Police: Man offered pot to lure teen sisters into prostitution

A man facing charges of sex trafficking and sexual assault against a child, used marijuana to lure two teenage sisters into illicit acts, according to a Las Vegas police report.

Van L. “Simba” Milton, 30, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center last week. Police also are seeking Zaida “Nala” Martin, who court records and the arrest report connect to the case.

Milton and Martin face two sex trafficking charges. Milton also faces an additional sexual assault charge, the report said. The sisters, who were runaways, were 13 and 14 years old when the incidents occurred in 2015.

Police learned about Milton when he and the older sister were arrested in February after a traffic stop. A Metro officer smelled marijuana and later found a .40 caliber gun that belonged to Milton inside the girl’s purse.

Police decided to question the girl when they discovered Milton was charged in 2012 with pimping a prostitute over the age of 16 in California. The report did not say whether he was convicted.

The girl told detectives in April that she met Milton late last year when she started getting marijuana from him after she saw him roll a “blunt.” The two became acquainted and Milton brought her around Martin.

“You can help me and ‘Simba’ make money. You know we can live —we can live in a kingdom, in a palace,” the girl remembers Martin telling her sometime after the February arrest when she moved in with them. “You can be treated like a princess.”

Under the direction of Milton and Martin, who police say also is a prostitute, the older girl was convinced to start “catching dates,” the report said. Milton took all of the money and would only repay her with free pot. “Here, here’s the weed. Go ahead,” the girl told police Milton would say.

The girl went on 10 “dates” during the three-week period, the report said. She and Martin stayed in a room at the Town and Country Manor, 500 Boulder Highway, and Milton stayed in a separate room. There were incidents when the girl and Martin would protect each other from “Johns” using a pellet rifle.

When police interviewed the younger sister, she told detectives about her relationship with Milton and Martin.

She met Milton last summer at the parking lot at The Suites, 4855 Boulder Highway, where the family lived. Milton, who was inside a vehicle, offered the younger sister marijuana. She told police she declined his sexual advances.

After the girls met Milton, the younger sister fought with her mother and ran to Milton’s apartment. She told police that they smoked marijuana together in January and that Milton gave her a Xanax pill before sexually abusing her. Tension between the younger sister, Milton and Martin grew when they tried pushing her into prostitution and she refused.

Milton and Martin told the younger sister that if she didn’t prostitute herself , they were “gonna hurt me,” she told police.

“I’m your pimp and you’re going to work for me,” the younger sister told police Milton said.

The older sister also ran away from her mother, and police were notified. She was found on June 6 with Milton at the Royal Sportsman Manor, 5600 Boulder Highway. Two additional underage girls, including one who had recently fled Child Haven, the county’s emergency shelter for children, were also with Milton, police said.

Milton tried to escape from police when he was cuffed and hurt his knee during an officer “takedown.” He required surgery and was booked in absentia.

Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites.