A first of its kind trial in San Luis Obispo County with Heather Hunt, Tremaine Jones and Joshua Murphy all facing felony charges including pimping of a minor under the age of 16.
While on trial together, they all have separate juries. It's the first time a trial with multiple juries has taken place in San Luis Obispo County.
Murphy is facing the most serious charges, including human trafficking of a minor, lewd acts upon a child and child pornography-related allegations.
SLO County Sheriff's officials say in January 2021, members of the county’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force came across an online sex ad showing a female who appeared to be under the age of 18.
During opening statements Tuesday morning, the prosecution highlighted messages and the digital footprint between the alleged victim and the defendants, telling jurors evidence will prove the teen was being trafficked and pumped against her will.
For the defense, their argument was keen on establishing context — context of messages between the girl and the three defendants and the defendants themselves with each other — telling jurors that evidence will prove their clients' innocence and belief that the teen was an adult.
Five thousand jurors were summoned for this trial, according to a superior court representative; 48 were selected.
The trial is expected to conclude in July.
Murphy’s lawyer, Addison Steele, has been involved in more than 100 jury trials in his career but says he’s only been part of 2-3 multiple jury trials.
"There's many judges who just outright will not grant a motion for multiple juries," Steele said. "They'll say that the case has to be severed or that the district attorney can't use the information they want to use. Logistically, it's challenging."
District Attorney Dan Dow told KSBY his office will not be commenting on the case or the overall scope of human trafficking in the county until the conclusion of the trial.
