The two cases illustrate the urgent need for bail and parole reform
LOS ANGELES — Calvin Lane was out of custody on reduced bail when he absconded before closing arguments last week at his trial for sex trafficking a young woman and a teenage girl in Los Angeles and Long Beach. Dijon O’Neal, a convicted violent sex offender, was on parole when he sexually assaulted three more women at knifepoint. Both sexual predators were convicted in August 2026 of multiple felonies.
“These cases show the tremendous work our office’s Sex Crimes Division does every day to secure justice and stand up for vulnerable victims, often young women and girls, who are targeted and exploited by sexual predators,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman. “The cases underscore our office’s relentless efforts to bring sex traffickers who prey on vulnerable victims to justice. These cases also unfortunately highlight the significant consequences to public safety when judges or parole boards release dangerous individuals with a history of violent crime from custody. I urge anyone with information on Calvin Lane’s whereabouts to contact law enforcement so he can face sentencing for his egregious crimes.”
Calvin Lane (24CJCF04008)
On Aug. 10, 2026, Calvin Lane (dob 4/8/86) stood trial for sex trafficking multiple victims, including a minor, between May and July 2023. He was out of custody on court-reduced bail during the trial.
Closing arguments were set for Aug. 27. Sometime between Aug. 26 and 27, he absconded. The Court found that he voluntarily absented himself and the trial could proceed.
On Aug. 28, a Los Angeles County jury convicted Lane of forcible trafficking of a minor for a commercial sex act, human trafficking of an adult, pandering of an adult and possession of a firearm by a felon, all felonies.
Lane faces over 70 years to life in state prison at sentencing.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Emily Chai of the Sex Crimes Division’s Human Sex Trafficking Section and was investigated by the Long Beach Police Department.
Anyone with information regarding Calvin Lane’s whereabouts can anonymously call LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or visit www.lacrimestoppers.org.
Dijon O’Neal (24AVCF00101)
In 2016, Dijon O’Neal (dob 9/2/91) was convicted by a jury of forcible copulation, forcible sexual penetration and false imprisonment in case MA065840. He committed these violent sexual assaults against a commercial sex worker. He was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in state prison on Oct. 28, 2016.
In December 2023, while out on parole for the 2016 conviction, O’Neal raped two women and sexually assaulted a third woman on three different dates. He targeted his victims through commercial sex websites. In each incident, he lured the victims to a dark and abandoned house, where he held them at knife point, demanded the victims orally copulate him and then forcefully engaged in vaginal sex.
On Aug. 20, 2026, on the eve of trial, O’Neal pleaded no contest to two felony counts of forcible rape and one felony count of forcible oral copulation. He also admitted the special circumstance of aggravated sex crimes including multiple victims and personal use of a deadly weapon, which can result in an enhanced sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
When O’Neal returns for sentencing on Oct. 14 in Department A18 of the Antelope Valley Courthouse, he will be sentenced to 34 years to life in state prison and must register as a sex offender for life.
O’Neal’s convictions qualify as sexually violent offenses under the Sexually Violent Predator Act. At the end of his sentence, he will be screened by the California Department of State Hospitals to determine whether he should be committed to a secure medical facility indefinitely.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Natalie Weingrow of the Sex Crimes Division and was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau.
