OAKLAND, CA - MAY13: The Alameda County Superior Courthouse is seen from this drone view in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, May 13, 2021. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND — A Sacramento man had an active arrest warrant for nearly two years before police happened upon him and arrested him on suspicion of trafficking a teen girl he met through Instagram, records show.
Darin Steele, 28, was arrested last month in Sacramento, in connection with a 2022 warrant on charges of human trafficking and pimping. He was arraigned last month in Oakland and was subsequently released from jail, with a court order that he attend an upcoming hearing in September.
The victim, described by police as a then-16-year-old girl, told Oakland investigators in November 2022 that she met Steele on Instagram and that he began trafficking her shortly after their initial contact. She said she spent a week with him, staying in Oakland hotels and walking high prostitution areas, and that he “provided her with protection and gave her transportation,” police said in court records.
Police obtained a warrant for Steele that same month, which remained active until his arrest on Aug. 23. Police say hotel records and vehicle information was consistent with the girl’s statement.
Originally published at Nate Gartrell