Guilty verdicts for three in brothel killings
Group went on violent spree against Chinese immigrant women who left their servitude
SAN JOSE >> Authorities alleged that a group of Southern California men, one with associations to the notorious Yakuza mafia in Japan, paid for women to emigrate from China to the United States with the agreement that they would work off their debts as sex workers in brothels operating in plain sight.
But when some of the women fled to the Bay Area, prosecutors say, the men didn't just try to bring them back. They sought retribution in the form of a violent spree throughout the region, raping the women who left them and assaulting and robbing the brothel operators who took them in.
The rampage ended the night of Sept. 28, 2017, when one of those brothel raids ended in the shooting death of a man working security for a brothel run out of a North San Jose luxury apartment complex. From there, investigators unraveled the scope and breadth of the violence that preceded that shooting, leading to an array of felony charges including murder, sexual assault and robbery.
On Nov. 15, a six-month trial for three of the men charged in the “revenge tour,” as Deputy District Attorney Michel Amaral described it, ended with guilty verdicts and the possibility of lifetime prison sentences without the possibility of parole.
“The crimes committed in this case were just shocking. There's no other way to put it,” Amaral said in an interview. “When you first hear about this case, you would think it was a robbery spree. But you don't need to rape a sex worker to have sex, you don't have to zip-tie her, blindfold her. This was about sending a message.”
Panpan Huang, Jason Shen, and Lin Tao are scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 27 in a Santa Clara County courtroom.
Attorney Joseph Tully, who represented Huang, challenged the strength of the criminal case, which by the prosecution's own admission hinged on forensic and circumstantial evidence owing to many victims' reluctance to testify and the fact they were blindfolded.
“While I respect the jury's verdict, I'm disappointed as I don't feel that the evidence matched the prosecution's theory,” Tully said in a statement.
Tao's deputy public defender, Ross McMahon, declined comment on the verdict but said he intends to file for appeal after the sentencing. Shen's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two other defendants were
originally charged alongside the group. An Yan cooperated with prosecutors in exchange for lesser charges and an eventual prison sentence of between 10 and 24 years. Jun Li was separated from the trial when his attorney raised doubts about his mental competence and his individual case is pending.
The prosecution established at trial that Huang moved to the United States and started a brothel business with Shen — who had been previously convicted of pimping — in San Gabriel. They recruited sex workers from China, paying for and processing their immigration in exchange for them working off the debts in brothels run by the two.
At trial, Amaral called to the stand FBI agent Kathryn McConnell, who cited experience investigating Japanese organized crime. McConnell testified that Huang, a Chinese businessman who once lived in Japan, has a full-body Yakuza tattoo. Huang's specific affiliation with the Yakuza was not established. McConnell's identification appeared to be part of an effort to associate the defendant with the mafia organization's human trafficking business.
For reasons that remain unclear, multiple women working for Huang and Shen fled to work at brothels in the Bay Area. The prosecution contends that Huang and Shen responded by enlisting Li, Tao and Yan to “hunt down” the women as well as their new employers.
The police investigation, led by San Jose Police Department Detective Brian Meeker and DA investigator Michael Montonye — a former SJPD detective — determined that the five men traveled to the Bay Area on Sept. 25, 2017, and “robbed, raped and committed other unspeakable acts” against sex workers at residential brothels in Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties.
In each instance documented by detectives, the men posed as customers to case out an operation, then returned with firearms and stun guns and tied up and blindfolded sex workers, then beat and raped them. The assailants reportedly shaved some of the victims' heads. At least one victim was penetrated with an eggplant, authorities said. They also were robbed of their bank cards, money and other valuables and were told to warn their bosses against opening more brothels.
The last robbery was Sept. 28, 2017, in San Jose, at a high-end apartment complex on Elan Village Lane north of Montague Expressway. SJPD officers were called to the location and found 31-year-old Xingjian Li — working security for a brothel operating there — suffering from a fatal gunshot wound.
Amaral said because of fears of reprisal and possible criminal consequences, the victims identified in the case did not report the crimes and begged bystanders — who eventually reported the crimes — not to alert police.
“These defendants felt comfortable committing (these crimes) because they had every reason to believe these crimes would not be reported,” Amaral said. “They were behaving after they were victimized as if they had done something wrong. Whatever the solution is, this is something that has to change. It's paramount we have to do something to protect these women.”
The trial included 80 witnesses from several U.S. states and China who gave testimony covering the crimes as well as expertise on topics including forensics and DNA analysis, video surveillance, Asian organized crime and human trafficking.
Amaral said the case highlighted how prevalent underground brothels are in the region, especially at luxury residences chosen specifically to ward off suspicion.
“The trial really took jurors on a tour of the dark underbelly of the Bay Area,” he said. “The case showed, unfortunately, that human trafficking is still alive and well despite our actions.”