Felon who pimped a woman and assaulted others gets 56-year sentence

A convicted felon who pimped out a 19-year-old woman in Moreno Valley, assaulted other women who refused to work for him and tried to persuade an undercover investigator to join his crew was sentenced to more than five decades in prison on Friday.

A Riverside jury in November convicted Christian Scott Meeks, 35, of Moreno Valley of two counts each of procuring a person for the purpose of prostitution, depriving a person of personal liberty and assault resulting in great bodily injury, as well as one count each of witness intimidation, attempted pandering and pimping.

Meeks was sentenced to 56 years and 8 months in state prison on Friday.

According to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney’s Office, the defendant came under investigation in January 2020 after sheriff’s patrol deputies went to investigate a disturbance at the Travel Inn on Sunnymead Boulevard in Moreno Valley.

They encountered a young woman, identified in court papers only as “M.S.,” in a room, weeping and saying she no longer wanted to work as a prostitute.

A deputy spotted items on a nearby table that included condoms, pepper spray and a spiral notebook with a list of “house rules,” the brief said.

Among the rules were “respect my game,” “speak only when spoken to” and “create Porn Hub account,” court papers said, stating further that Meeks, also known as “Active,” was the author.

M.S. told deputies that she had fallen under the defendant’s sway in April 2019 while struggling to stay off of the streets. He convinced her to provide sexual services to “Johns” at his direction, turning over all earnings to him after he arranged her dates in motel rooms and cars using different web applications.

The ensuing investigation by the county’s Anti-human Trafficking Task Force revealed that Meeks used physical threats to keep the young woman under his control, court papers said.

She was ultimately provided with resources to end her activity in the illicit sex trade.

Investigators later located another woman, identified as “J.L.,” who said that on March 23, 2020, she was involved in a confrontation with Meeks outside Sundance Liquor Store on Sunnymead during which he accused her of being a “snitch.”

Court papers said that he was incensed J.L. had turned down his solicitations to work for him as a call girl, and the confrontation turned violent, with the defendant beating her so intensely she urinated herself and collapsed on the ground unconscious.

Another woman, identified as “V.B.,” met Meeks in November 2018 while she was pregnant and paying her bills in Lancaster by periodically providing sexual services, according to court documents. The defendant drove her to Moreno Valley, insisting that she perform a “car date” as part of her initiation to work for him. But according to the brief, V.B. re