Monterey County man pleads guilty to human trafficking of a minor, other exploitive crimes

SALINAS – A Salinas man had pleaded guilty to multiple counts of exploitive crimes after engaging in an unlawful relationship with a minor for more than five months between 2021 and 2022, Monterey County District Attorney Office Jeannine Pacioni announced Thursday.

Kevin Michael Chappell, 29, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to: three counts of human trafficking of a minor for commercial sex purposes; nine counts of using a minor to create sexual abuse material and two counts of dissuading a victim from reporting a crime. Chappell also pleaded guilty to multiple additional counts, including oral copulation of a minor, unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, penetration for a foreign object and child abuse.

These convictions constitute two strikes under California’s Three Strikes Law.

According to investigators, for just over five months – between Oct. 25, 2021 and April 1, 2022 – Chappell engaged in an unlawful relationship with a 16-year-old Jane Doe. Investigators said that during the relationship, Chappell coerced Jane Doe to engage in “numerous sex acts” with him, as well as with another man, Adrian Cardenas.

Cardenas was sentenced back in March for his sexual assault of Jane Doe. He was sentenced to eight years and eight months in state prison.

Law enforcement started investigating Chappell more than a year ago. On March 21, 2022, Monterey County Sheriff’s deputies – at first unaware of Chappell’s sexual relationship with Jane Doe – responded to a report that he was seen battering her in a vehicle on Rogge Road in Salinas, according to the DA’s Office. After the incident, Chappell was, initially, only arrested for and charged with child abuse, investigators said.

While prosecuting the child abuse charge, however, the prosecution team discovered a number of calls between Chappell and Jane Doe. Investigators said the calls seemed to indicate a sexual relationship.

Further investigation by detectives from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office uncovered videos of Chappell, Cardenas and Jane Doe engaging in sexual acts. Detectives also found messages between Chappell and Cardenas negotiating sexual contact with Jane Doe, plus various forms of payment. Finally, detectives discovered messages between Chappell and Jane Doe, which included threats by Chappell if Jane Doe didn’t comply with his sexual demands, investigators said.

Chappell’s sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 30. He faces up to 36 years in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.