Man faces felony charge of pimping a minor on the Anaheim – Orange County registry

SANTA ANA — A 28-year-old man pleaded not guilty to pimping a 17-year-old girl in Anaheim on Wednesday.

Antonio Romello Mann was charged in September 2020 with human trafficking with a minor victim, pimping with a minor over 16, pimping with a minor over 17, and two counts of pimping and pimping, all felonies.

An Anaheim investigator said in court filings that an Instagram account in which he, the investigator, poses as a woman pulled a message in July 2020 from a 17-year-old who offered to work as a prostitute. In another message from late August, the victim said she worked as a prostitute in Los Angeles, prompting investigators to offer to pay her for a “threesome” to connect with the victim and help her according to court documents.

Mann drove the teen to an Anaheim parking lot, but the two left when they saw unmarked police cars, investigators said. On September 1, 2020, the victim informed investigators that she was admitted to Orange County Children’s Hospital. When investigators visited her, she said Mann, also named Tone Montana, was her pimp and that he had two others who worked for him as prostitutes, including an 18-year-old woman who was 17 when she worked as a sex worker began, according to court records. The other woman was 25 years old.

Mann posted bail in September 2020 and did not appear in court in January last year, according to court documents. According to court records, he had to be transferred from San Quentin Jail to face arraignment in Orange County.

Mann was ordered to return to court for a pretrial hearing at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana on February 21.