Owner of Desert Star Motel in Bakersfield Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Participation in Sex Trafficking Enterprise

FRESNO, Calif. — Jatinbhai Naresh Bhakta, 31, of Bakersfield, was sentenced today to 4 years in prison and ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment of over $1 million for using a facility of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, in 2015, Bhakta purchased and began operating the Desert Star Motel at 516 South Union Avenue in Bakersfield. Bhakta lived in a unit at the motel. Co‑defendant Roy Gene Drees, 45, also lived at the motel and was employed as a handyman and general manager.  During Bhakta’s ownership from at least 2018 to 2020, the Desert Star primarily catered to prostitutes and their actual and potential clients. Bhakta communicated with pimps by telephone and messaging applications, and would check in on prostitutes when asked to do so by the pimps.  Depending on the time of day, it was not unusual to see most, if not all, of the doors to motel rooms wide open with suspected prostitutes in lingerie standing outside, waving to drivers and approaching their vehicles. Prospective customers would park directly in front of the room of the prostitute they desired, and the prostitute would either direct them into the room immediately or meet the customer outside to arrange a deal. There were approximately 20 to 25 rooms available for rent, most of which were occupied by prostitutes, with very few, if any, used for legitimate overnight residency. Bhakta routinely charged rates of $120-140 per room per night in cash. From 2018 through January 2020, Bhakta deposited over $1 million in cash into his bank accounts, at a typical rate of approximately $30,000 to $40,000 per month.

In May 2019, two minor females were rescued from the property after having been trafficked by Darnell Edwards, 33, of Antioch at the Desert Star. On Jan. 22, 2021, a search warrant was executed at the Desert Star, and 15 prostitutes and three pimps were encountered. Drees and Bhakta were arrested at that time.

On Nov. 10, 2022, Bhakta pleaded guilty. On May 1, 2023, Edwards was sentenced to 19 years and seven months for sex trafficking of the two minors.

Charges are pending against Drees, who is scheduled for trial on March 23, 2024. If convicted, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bakersfield Police Department, and the Parole Division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Gappa is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.