People v. Titus CA4/2

BACKGROUND

At trial, Detective Kimberly Hernandez of the City of San Bernardino Police

Department testified for the prosecution as an expert witness on human trafficking and

the commercial sex trade. She had worked as a vice detective focused on investigating

crimes involving the commercialized trade of sex, including prostitution, pimping,

2 pandering, and human trafficking and was assigned for two years to a multiagency,

countywide human trafficking task force. In addition to testifying as an expert,

Hernandez also testified about the investigation that she personally conducted in this

case. Hernandez met with Doe three times between July 2016 and May 2017.

The act of pimping prostitutes operates as a subculture with its own vocabulary,

hand gestures, and rules, which Hernandez testified about extensively. Hernandez

explained that pimps have prostitutes work for them on the street and by posting online

advertisements for them. In recruiting prostitutes, pimps commonly look for young

women who are particularly vulnerable, such as those who are homeless or come from

troubled families. With such victims, the pimp acts as the victim’s champion and

provider and thereby…