A Ventura County man was sentenced to prison for trafficking a 14-year-old boy and forcing him to work nonstop to put clothing items for sale online.
Brandon Holguin, 27, of Thousand Oaks, began threatening the boy after meeting him at a thrift store, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Over the next few months, he texted and called the boy frequently, making false promises to help him, according to authorities.
On May 2, 2025, Holguin got the boy into his car from a spot near his Los Angeles County home before trafficking him to other places. He removed the boy’s cell phone so he couldn’t call anyone or be found by his family. His relatives eventually reported him missing to authorities.
He forced the youngster to give over his personal belongings, including jewelry pieces provided to him by his family, and sold them for hundreds of dollars in cash.
Holguin took the youngster to a motel and forced him to work, sorting and photographing hundreds of discarded pieces of clothing and accessories for online resale.
He apparently compelled the child to take Adderall so that he could work late into the night to complete his tasks.
Holguin had intended to bring the victim to Northern California, but when those preparations fell through, he abandoned the youngster by the side of a Los Angeles freeway in the middle of the night on May 5, 2025.
The child walked from the freeway to a nearby business, where personnel contacted 911. He was eventually reunited with his family.
On May 9, 2025, Holguin was apprehended and detained after an inquiry.
On November 9, 2026, he was convicted of one felony count each of human trafficking for labor, child abuse under conditions likely to result in serious bodily harm or death, and providing a juvenile with a restricted substance, the amphetamine Adderall.
He was sentenced to five years in state prison and ordered to pay $4,300 in reparations for depriving the victim of his property.
“Human trafficking often includes a predator luring a vulnerable child into illegal labor exploitation, as in this case,” said L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. “Brandon Holguin will spend years in prison for his despicable acts of labor trafficking a child, making the child take an amphetamine so he could work all night and cutting off all communications with his family. I’m grateful for Deputy-in-Charge Ryann Gerber Jorban and Deputy District Attorney Alice Kurs of the Labor Justice Unit who swiftly secured justice in this case and held the defendant accountable for the devastating harm he caused to a minor victim, his family and their community.”
Anyone who is a victim of human trafficking or knows someone who is can contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233-733 (Be Free) for assistance.
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