A Gardena man who skipped out on his own sex trafficking trial just before closing arguments has been convicted anyway, and he remains missing more than a week later. Calvin Lane failed to appear in court on August 27, 2026, and a jury found him guilty the next day of trafficking a young woman and a teenage girl, leaving him to face more than 70 years to life in state prison.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced the conviction, which capped a case that began in July 2023 when Lane was first arrested. According to MyNewsLA.com, Lane was convicted on multiple felony counts, including human trafficking of an adult, forcible trafficking of a minor for a commercial sex act, pandering of an adult, and possession of a firearm by a felon. The convictions stem from conduct across Los Angeles and Long Beach.
How the Case Against Lane Began
The investigation traces back to July 9, 2023, when Long Beach Police officers responded to a distress call near 67th Street and Long Beach Boulevard, according to the City of Long Beach. Officers rescued a teenage girl who had been physically and sexually assaulted while being trafficked across both cities. That call set off a chain of events that would take nearly three years to reach a verdict.
Detectives later executed search and arrest warrants at Lane’s home in Gardena on July 26, 2023, taking the then-37-year-old into custody, as reported by CBS Los Angeles. Inside the residence, investigators located a second, adult sex trafficking victim, and police offered recovery services to that victim at the scene. The minor victim was turned over to the Department of Children and Family Services.
Bail Reduction Preceded His Disappearance
Lane was originally held in county jail on $1.1 million bail following his 2023 arrest and remained behind bars for nearly three years. But a court-reduced bail allowed him to post bond and gain release in July 2026, just weeks before his trial was set to begin, per the district attorney’s office…