OAKLAND — A Sacramento man had an active warrant for his arrest for nearly two years before police tracked him down and arrested him on suspicion of trafficking a teenage girl he met through Instagram, records show.
Darin Steele, 28, was arrested last month in Sacramento on a 2022 warrant charging him with human trafficking and pimping. He was arraigned last month in Oakland and subsequently released from jail, with a court order to 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 shopping with her shortly after their first contact. She said she spent a week with him, staying in Oakland hotels and walking high-prostitution areas, and that he “provided her with shelter and gave her transportation,” police said in court records.
Police obtained a warrant for Steele’s arrest that same month, which remained active until his arrest on August 23. Police say hotel records and vehicle information matched the girl’s statement.
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