Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking, Rape in California

Leslie Anthony Bailey, a 33-year-old man from Wilmington, pleaded guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking by force and coercion after exploiting a woman struggling with fentanyl addiction. Bailey contacted the victim, who was in a drug treatment facility, through social media and lured her with promises of fentanyl. He forced her into prostitution in Anaheim, took all the money she earned, and used threats of violence to control her. On February 8, 2022, after promising to return her to rehab, Bailey instead drove her to a remote area in the Angeles National Forest, where he raped and abandoned her. Bailey admitted to a similar pattern of abuse involving another victim in 2023, also recruited via social media. He has been in custody since March 2024 and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years.