A 22-year-old Ukiah man is behind bars after Oakland police say he held a woman captive in an East Oakland motel and forced her to have sex with strangers for cash. Officers tracked the pair down after the woman was reported missing, and the suspect is now facing a stack of felony charges.
Court records identify the suspect as 22-year-old Alexander Barger of Ukiah, who is charged with false imprisonment, human trafficking, pandering, robbery, and domestic violence. Barger was booked into Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, has pleaded not guilt,y and remains in custody with no bail listed, according to the East Bay Times. The same records show Barger has two prior Mendocino County convictions for failing to appear in court and for making criminal threats.
According to court documents cited by the East Bay Times, officers found Barger and the woman on Tuesday at the Nights Inn motel on the 800 block of West MacArthur Boulevard. As police moved in, Barger allegedly "jumped from the motel's second story" in a failed bid to get away. The woman told investigators she had met Barger online and that he took her to International Boulevard to force her into sex work. The criminal complaint alleges he took $80 from her after just one day on the street.
Enforcement in a known trafficking corridor
Oakland police have been intensifying enforcement along International Boulevard and nearby motel strips, a corridor long associated with commercial sexual exploitation. Dozens of people have been arrested this year in operations meant to disrupt trafficking and connect victims with services, SFGATE reported. At City Hall, officials are weighing code changes that would shift penalties toward buyers and problem properties while creating a new Human Trafficking Survivor Support Fund, according to the Oakland Report.
Legal outlook
Under California law, human trafficking and pandering are felonies that can bring lengthy prison terms, steep fines and, in some situations, sex-offender registration. Penal Code section 236.1 and related statutes set sentencing ranges based on how the trafficking was carried out and whether force was used or minors were involved, according to a legal overview from Shouse Law.
Investigators say the case remains active, and anyone with information about this incident or other suspected trafficking is urged to contact the Oakland Police Department’s human trafficking hotline at (510) 238-2373, SFGATE reports. Barger is scheduled to return to Alameda County court on March 3.
