East Palo Alto man convicted on felony sex trafficking, pimping charges

REDWOOD CITY — A jury found an East Palo Alto man guilty of felony sex trafficking and pimping charges late last week, six months after he was arrested in a sting operation conducted by Redwood City police, according to prosecutors.

Dwayne Robinson, 48, drove a 22-year-old female victim to a Redwood City motel on May 25 after police responded to a social media ad. The pair was greeted by police upon arrival and their cell phones were seized. Downloads of previous text messages showed evidence that the man had been trafficking the woman for at least one month, according to prosecutors.

In one text message, the woman told Robinson that she “did not want to do this anymore.”

On the sixth and ultimately final day of Robinson’s trial last week, prosecutors said the woman, who hadn’t testified, yelled that “they were lying” about her “boyfriend” and that she loved him. The bailiff then led her out of the court room.

The defense attempted to cite that outburst in a closing argument but an objection was sustained by a judge. On Friday, the jury delivered guilty verdicts on felony sex trafficking and pimping charges.

Robinson currently remains in custody as he awaits his Dec. 15 sentencing hearing.