Long Beach man charged with human trafficking, pimping 2 women

ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) -- A 42-year-old Long Beach man was arrested and charged with human trafficking and pimping two women, authorities announced Thursday.

Darrell Elder was arrested Jan. 31 after a weeklong investigation in Anaheim, according to a news release from the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force.

Authorities said they contacted a woman believed to be a sex worker on Beach Boulevard in Anaheim on Jan. 24. The woman denied being a victim, but authorities later identified Elder as "the individual responsible for trafficking the victim, keeping the woman working for him through the use of extreme violence over an extended period of time."

Investigators also say Elder is a convicted felon and was pimping a second woman.

His arrest was a multi-agency effort comprised of the task force, Irvine Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the O.C. District Attorney's Office.

He is charged with one felony count of human trafficking, two felony counts of pimping and two felony counts of pandering, the task force said.

"Under the law, human trafficking is described as depriving or violating the personal liberty of another person with the intent to effect a violation of pimping or pandering," authorities said. "Pimping is described as knowingly deriving financial support in whole or in part from the proceeds of prostitution."

Elder is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 16.