LOS ANGELES, Calif. — An online clothing reseller has been sentenced to five years in state prison for labor trafficking a then-14-year-old La Crescenta middle schooler, prosecutors announced.
Read the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office release: https://da.lacounty.gov/media/news/online-clothing-reseller-sentenced-five-years-prison-furnishing-drugs-labor-trafficking
The sentence was announced by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office in Case No. 25PDCF00359.
Brandon Holguin, 27, is the defendant, according to the release.
Holguin pleaded no contest and was convicted on November 9, 2026, officials reported.
A No-Contest Plea, Three Felony Counts, And Five Years In Prison
Brandon Holguin: Convicted of one felony count of human trafficking for labor, one felony count of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death, and one felony count of furnishing a minor a controlled substance, the amphetamine Adderall.
Holguin was sentenced to a total of five years in state prison, according to the release.
He was ordered to pay $4,300 in restitution for depriving the victim of his possessions, officials reported.
The defendant was ordered to serve his sentence forthwith, according to the release.
A Thrift-Store Meeting, A Motel Room, And Hundreds Of Clothing Items
According to the release, Holguin first met and targeted the victim at a thrift store several months earlier, then contacted him frequently with texts, phone calls and in person with false promises to help him.
On May 2, 2025, Holguin lured the victim into his car, then trafficked the victim to multiple cities in Los Angeles County, officials reported.
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He coerced the victim into giving up his personal possessions, including family jewelry and his cell phone so he could not contact or be located by his family, according to the release.
Holguin drove the victim to a motel room where he furnished him with the amphetamine Adderall, which made the victim sick, and made him work late into the night preparing hundreds of items of clothing for online resale, officials reported.
Abandoned On A Freeway, Recovered By Police, And Reunited With Family
On May 5, at approximately 2 a.m., Holguin abandoned the victim alone on the side of a Los Angeles freeway, according to the release.
The victim managed to walk off the freeway to a nearby location where staff called 911, officials reported.
The victim was recovered by Los Angeles Police Department officers and reunited with his family, according to the release.
"Human trafficking often includes a predator luring a vulnerable child into illegal labor exploitation, as in this case," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said.
Case 25PDCF00359 was prosecuted by Deputy-in-Charge Ryann Gerber Jorban and Deputy District Attorney Alice Kurs of the Consumer Protection Division's Labor Justice Unit and investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, according to the release.
The release states no further court date in the case. The sentence and the restitution order are the outcomes announced.
If you are the victim of human trafficking or know someone who is, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233-733 (Be Free).
Sources
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, "Online Clothing Reseller Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Furnishing Drugs, Labor Trafficking Los Angeles County Middle Schooler," November 10, 2026: https://da.lacounty.gov/media/news/online-clothing-reseller-sentenced-five-years-prison-furnishing-drugs-labor-trafficking
Transparency notes
Published: Nov 11, 2026. No major post-publication update has been logged.
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