Berkeley: Pair get wildly different sentences in human trafficking case

OAKLAND — A Berkeley man and woman have negotiated their human trafficking case with wildly different results that saw one defendant go to state prison and another take a two-year probation term, court records show.

Chemon Parks, 24, pleaded no contest to pimping, human trafficking, and sexual battery related to two victims, including a teen girl, and was sentenced to nine years and four months in state prison. He was transferred to North Kern State Prison on Sept. 27 and will be eligible for parole in April 2027, according to court records.

His co-defendant, Kimora Ashby, also 24, was sentenced to two years probation and a year she’s already served in jail after pleading no contest to pandering, court records show. Asbhy’s lawyer told the Berkeley Scanner that Ashby is a former victim of human trafficking herself and plans to focus on raising a family now that the case is behind her.

Parks and Ashby were originally charged last year with trafficking a 23-year-old woman; in late 2022, prosecutors added charges related to a 17-year-old girl they allegedly flew to Texas for purposes of sex trafficking, according to court records. The 23-year-old woman accused Parks of assaulting her, police said.

Authorities say they recovered digital evidence, including prostitution ads, that backed up the victims’ allegations.