A case involving alleged sex trafficking in the San Francisco Bay area extended into Martin County after the woman at the center of the case was arrested here last month on felony battery charges.
But Wednesday, the 19-year-old agreed to a plea deal and pleaded no contest to an unrelated misdemeanor battery charge.
She was arrested at a rehab facility in Stuart after flashing motorists along US 1 and biting a security guard.
The court accepted a written letter of apology, and she will have her criminal record expunged if she follows certain conditions.
“I came to Stuart Florida to rescue this young woman," said attorney Pamela Price.
Her release from jail Wednesday clears the way for Alameda County prosecutors to charge seven current and former police officers implicated in the scandal.
The district attorney said she wouldn't formally file charges until the 19-year-old woman was able to return to California and testify against the officers if necessary.
Prosecutors say two officers will be charged with sex with a minor.
“The police officers were engaged in a conspiracy to sexually traffic children. She is not the only one," said Price, who practices law in Oakland.
Her attorneys claim she was sent to the drug rehab facility in Stuart under false pretenses. In court Wednesday morning, local attorney Richard Kibbey called her “The most wanted woman in California.”
"We now have to provide for her security because her life is under threat. That’s not acceptable in America," said Price.
Price says sex trafficking only survives because we tolerate it.
Price says her client wants to become a veterinarian and help other child sex victims.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
