Madera man sought on charges of human trafficking and pimping 15-year-old girl in SLO

San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office is searching for a Madera man on suspicion of trafficking a 15-year-old Nevada girl who had been missing.

Joshua Diante Murphy, 26, and two others, a woman from Tipton and a man from Bakersfield, are accused of trafficking the girl.

According to a news release Thursday, investigators from the San Luis Obispo County Counter Human Trafficking Team “were answering online sex ads as part of the statewide effort to curb human sex trafficking under the umbrella of Operation Reclaim and Rebuild.”

Detectives answered an ad featuring a girl who appeared to be under the age of 18.

The detectives arranged a date with the girl and detained her, according to the release. An investigation determined she was a missing at-risk 15-year-old from Nevada.

Investigators identified Murphy in the area they believed to have possibly trafficked the girl, the Sheriff’s Office said. Murphy allegedly attempted to flee but was detained.

At the time, the Sheriff’s Office said, it did not have probable cause for the Murphy’s arrest so he was released — but a subsequent investigation reportedly revealed evidence he was trafficking the teen with the help of 28-year-old Heather Lynne Hunt of Tipton and 27-year-old Tremaine Quincy Tejon Jones of Bakersfield.

Murphy is still outstanding.

Murphy is charged with trafficking a minor, pimping a prostitute under the age of 16, lewd acts with a child, obscene matter depicting a minor for commercial consideration and conspiracy to commit a crime, according to the release.

Hunt is charged with trafficking a minor, obscene matter depicting a minor for commercial consideration and conspiracy to commit a crime, while Jones is charged with conspiracy to commit a crime.