Child trafficking exposed: Oakland woman sold 9-year-old girl to child molester
OAKLAND — A city resident was sentenced last month to 18 years in prison for repeatedly selling a 9-year-old girl to a 40-year-old man who molested her, court records show.
Jamia Crochett, 38, pleaded no contest to human trafficking and child molestation charges in exchange for the 18-year prison term. This news organization is not revealing how she knew the girl, in order to protect the victim’s identity. One witness, a relative of Crochett’s, told police she took pictures of the girl’s genitals and sent them to various men as a form of advertisement.
Zachary Yngojo-Wang, 40, was identified as Oakland resident who molested the girl on at least three occasions, and was charged with child molestation, alongside Crochett. In late March, Yngojo-Wang accepted a 20-year prison term and pleaded no contest to multiple counts of committing a lewd act upon a child, court records show.
In court for Crochett’s sentencing hearing, the girl spoke up before a judge formally handed down the prison term. She said she feels loved and is healing, but still grappling with the “pain from my past.”
“At church today, our pastor said forgive people that hurt you. I am struggling with that,” she said, later adding, “The trauma of my childhood will not affect my life.”
Police interviewed the girl after receiving a tip about the molestation, and she reported that Crochett had been paid by a man who forcibly molested her on three occasions. In court papers police said the girl reported that “she would plead with the unknown male to stop and attempt to resist, but he would physically overpower her.”
After identifying the man as Yngojo-Wang, police searched his home and found a pistol, large ziplock bags of marijuana, and “large sums of money which indicated narcotics sales,” Oakland police Det. Bradley Sides wrote in court papers. The two were charged in April 2021.
Yngojo-Wang is set to be formally sentenced on May 17, and remains in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin in the meantime.