A 28-year-old Stockton man is facing human trafficking charges after Oakland police say they pulled his car over and found a missing 16-year-old girl inside, along with eight condoms and a motel room key. Court papers identify the man as Jordan Sanders, whom police allege had been forcing the teen to work off a $5,000 fee before she could walk away.
According to The Mercury News, Oakland police stopped a Kia K5 that Sanders was driving on Sept. 8 after tracking him down near 9th Avenue and International Boulevard. Inside the car, officers say they found the missing girl, a runaway from Southern California, along with the condoms and a motel key.
The stop came a day after a separate, disturbing report at the Palms Motel on West MacArthur Boulevard. Authorities said a woman reported being robbed of $500 while a man dragged her around the property on Sept. 7, and police found the 16-year-old runaway from Southern California in Sanders's car the following day, Sept. 8. Police allegedly identified Sanders as the longtime pimp of the woman who reported the robbery and beating.
Girl Allegedly Trying to Buy Her Own Freedom
Investigators said the teenager had a lump on her forehead when officers found her, and that she had been trying to pay Sanders $5,000 so she could leave him and return to a previous pimp. Police allege Sanders forced the girl to work off that fee as a condition of earning her freedom, and court papers say he was ultimately charged with human trafficking of a minor.
Alameda County prosecutors also charged Sanders with soliciting a minor and pandering, and he was jailed in lieu of $200,000 bail. Prosecutors say he has three prior felony convictions, according to the same Mercury News report.
In a police interview, Sanders admitted to getting into an argument with his girlfriend at the motel but denied participating in any beating or robbery there. He also could not explain, according to police, why the runaway girl was in his vehicle when officers stopped him.
Robbery Suspect Arrested, Charging Status Unclear
Court records describe the alleged robber from the Sept. 7 incident as a 20-year-old suspected sex worker from Los Angeles, who was arrested days after the reported attack. Whether she has been charged in that robbery has not been confirmed in court records reviewed by the outlet.
Sanders has a preliminary hearing set for Oct. 20 in Alameda County, where a judge will review the evidence and decide whether there is enough to uphold the charges against him.
Oakland police have also pursued broader enforcement efforts targeting the exploitation of minors. The department conducted a targeted human-trafficking enforcement operation along International Boulevard in February, according to the City of Oakland, which resulted in eight arrests.
State officials have pointed to the scale of the problem. The California Department of Justice says young girls and women make up 99.4% of sex-trafficking victims and 57.6% of forced-labor victims statewide. Governor Gavin Newsom's office has noted that the 2025-26 state budget included $5 million in ongoing funding for the California Highway Patrol's computer-crimes investigation unit to combat human trafficking and child sexual exploitation crimes, as outlined by the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom.
For now, the central questions in Sanders's case remain unresolved. The outcome of the Oct. 20 preliminary hearing, where a judge will weigh whether prosecutors have enough evidence to proceed, has not yet been determined.
