Oakland man charged with human trafficking

An Oakland man was charged Wednesday with the human trafficking of a teenage girl.

Patrick Leo Simmons, 32, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the felony charge and five other related charges, prosecutors with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said.

Simmons had been exploiting the girl out of a Sunnyvale motel after he had picked her from a bible study, prosecutors said.

Agents from the Human Trafficking Task Force got a tip from the San Jose Police Department the victim, a runaway, was being advertised for sex on Backpage.com, a website frequently used to post ads for prostitution, prosecutors said.

Agents were able to arrange for a “date” with the victim and were able to recover her from her hotel room. Simmons was arrested nearby on foot in possession of $6,510 and a key to the victim’s hotel room, prosecutors said.

Simmons is being held on $1 million bail and has a scheduled court appearance on Friday in Palo Alto.