A Sept. 8 preliminary hearing was set Wednesday for a Pacific Beach man who is charged with pimping and pandering involving a website that was used for prostitution.
The offenses against Christian J. Koalani, 67, allege he derived money from prostitution that came from a website he owned in which customers could log on and eventually meet people who would charge a fee for sex.
A relative, Hannah Koalani, 23, is also charged with conspiring with Christian Koalani to recruit young women to work as prostitutes, according to court records.
Christian Koalani was arrested June 14 by San Diego Police following a year-long investigation by the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force that looked into criminal commercial sex enterprises.
Dale A. Vinzant, 68, operated another similar website and he has pleaded guilty to attempted pimping, soliciting a prostitute, and two counts of money laundering.
Vinzant, who was arrested in Mission Bay on June 3 in the same investigation, faces up to four years and four months in state prison. Sentencing is set for Sept. 8 before San Diego Superior Court Judge Dan Link.
Court documents say Vinzant must forfeit his business account assets from the website as part of his sentence. His website allowed prostitutes to post profiles and ads for sexual services.
Before his website was shut down, Vinzant offered membership services for both customers and prostitutes that included dozens of chat rooms. Members paid $15 per month. Vinzant posted a review about his sexual encounter with one person, records say.
Vinzant is free on $150,000 bond. Christian Koalani remains in jail on $500,000 bail while Hannah Koalani is free on bond. Christian and Hannah Koalani have both pleaded not guilty.