A mother and son from Compton are facing charges they forced two 13-year-olds into prostitution.
Daisy Pollard-Gilliam, 41, who is also known as “Queen,” and Reuben Gilliam, 24, who also goes by “Tre,” face numerous counts of sexual and other offenses.
Both are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor and two counts of sex trafficking of a minor, the United States Department of Justice said in a news release. In addition, Gilliam is charged with production of child pornography and distribution of child pornography, and Pollard-Gilliam is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The alleged crime spree began at about 2 a.m. on June 3, 2023, when Gilliam and two other men saw two 13-year-old girls walking down a Bell Gardens street. One of the three men jumped out of the vehicle, told the girls to get in and all then went to a home in Lynwood, officials said.
For the next week, the girls were “required to engage in sexual activity” with the mother and son, as well as “unidentified commercial sex customers,” prosecutors said.
“The customers told one victim that they paid $100 to have sexual intercourse with her and the defendants collected the cash after the customer had sex with the victims, according to court documents,” the release said. “The defendants allegedly also directed the victims to dress in lingerie and pose for pictures to be used to advertise commercial sex.”
Images and videos of the minors were sent by Pollard-Gilliam to an inmate at Kern Valley State Prison, prosecutors said.
After the alleged traffickers spotted missing children’s flyers, they moved the girls elsewhere in the county.
The children were finally located on June 9, 2023, six days after their abduction, in an RV in Gardena, the DOJ said.
“Among the items law enforcement seized during the rescue were clothing, shoes, eyewear, and one cellphone that the suspects allegedly gave the victims so they could call the suspects if they were in trouble,” the release said. “The victims allegedly used the cellphone to text and call Daisy Pollard-Gilliam on multiple occasions.”
Gilliam is already in state custody on unrelated charges and will be transferred to federal custody in the next few weeks.
Pollard-Gilliam was arrested on April 24, when she allegedly possessed a pistol and 25 rounds of ammunition despite having been convicted of a felony charge of child endangerment in 2021.
She is scheduled to be arraigned on May 14 in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
