Oakland fashion designer charged with human trafficking over 4 years

OAKLAND — Police here arrested a fashion designer on charges of trafficking a woman from 2020 to 2024, crimes that the victim allegedly claimed were first intended to fund his clothing line.

Terrell Whitfield, 36, of Stockton, was charged in mid-December with human trafficking, pimping, and pandering, court records show. Judge Michael Risher released Whitfield from jail the same day he was charged, court records show. Whitfield is next due in court in late January.

Authorities say the woman reported Whitfield to Oakland police last May, claiming that he had approached her about prostitution as early as 2019, and eventually convinced her after her initial resistance. She said that she made money as a sex worker starting in 2020, with the expectation that she and Whitfield would get an apartment and invest in his clothing line when he got out of jail in Monterey County.

Instead, Whitfield ended up pocketing $240,000 she made, she reportedly told police. Over the four year period, the woman allegedly traveled to Fairfield, Richmond, Sacramento, San Jose, Los Angeles, Monterey, Concord, and throughout Alameda County, as well as Atlanta and Las Vegas, for sex work, authorities said.

Police say they uncovered sex ads and text messages where the woman and Whitfield discuss prostitution. She claimed he instructed her how much to charge, which sexual positions to employ, and would pick her up at the end of “dates.”

During the four-year period, Whitfield’s romantic partner vandalized the woman’s car and harassed her, she reportedly told police.