Two Charged with Sex Trafficking of Minors

Two men have been arrested in connection with a statewide, multi-agency operation to rescue victims of sex trafficking, Long Beach police announced Wednesday.

William Earl Givens, 19, of Long Beach, and Ryan Keith Culpepper, 29, of Los Angeles, were arrested this month in undercover investigations at two motels, where two minors were allegedly being sex-trafficked, according to police.

Givens is charged with a felony count of human trafficking of a minor for a commercial sex act involving a teenage girl between Jan. 1 and Feb. 6, according to a criminal complaint. He is free on bond and is set to be arraigned June 6 in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.

Culpepper is charged with one felony count each of human trafficking of a minor for a commercial sex act and pandering by encouraging, along with allegations that he “induced others to participate” in the crimes and occupied a position of “leadership and dominance of other participants,” and that he carried out the offenses in a manner that indicates “planning, sophistication, and professionalism.

Culpepper remains jailed while awaiting arraignment next Wednesday in a Long Beach courtroom.

Police said the arrests stemmed from “Operation Reclaim & Rebuild 2022” — an effort to rescue sex trafficking victims and to locate and arrest those suspected of sex trafficking.

Detectives and officers from the Long Beach Police Department’s Night Vice Investigations Detail, North Division Directed Enforcement Team, Coordinated Response Team and patrol officers conducted numerous investigations related to commercial sex work within the city.