Cal State Bakersfield assistant Kevin Mays arrested on human trafficking charges

Cal State Bakersfield assistant men’s basketball coach Kevin Mays was arrested Thursday on suspicion of human trafficking and other crimes, per 23 ABC News in Bakersfield. Mays has been on Cal State Bakerfield’s staff for the past six seasons.

“The Bakersfield Police Department said its investigation into the 32-year-old began in August after an anonymous tip claimed a woman was being trafficked across California, Oregon and Washington,” ABC 23 News‘ Veronica Morley wrote. “Detectives located the victim in Sacramento, where she identified Mays as her alleged trafficker.

“Investigators said they connected Mays and the victim through traffic stops, rental car records and multiple online ads. Officers served a warrant Thursday, arresting Mays and searching his car and apartment. They reported finding loaded, unregistered guns, narcotics and other evidence of drug sales.”

Per KBAK, Mays was booked into the Kern County Jail not only human trafficking charges, but also pimping and pandering, weapons violations, and drug offenses. Lauren Skidmore from The Open Door Network, an organization that operates a homeless shelter in Kern County and serves human trafficking victims, educated KBAK about the emotional trauma human trafficking victims often face.

“Human trafficking victims are amongst the most traumatized victims that we see,” Skidmore said. “There are lifelong effects to being a victim of human trafficking; you know, trauma will show up throughout your body in many ways. These individuals have PTSD; they have mental and physical issues that will linger, and they have a lot of trust issues that then cause them to have issues with relationships moving forward.”

Mays focuses on player development for Cal State Bakersfield. Before joining the program’s coaching staff, Mays played at CSUB from 2014-16. He averaged 12.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in his senior season to lead the program to its Western Athletic Conference Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance.

In his two years at CSUB, Mays was named to the All-WAC First Team once and the All-Defensive Team twice. Mays is originally from Queens, New York. He played high school basketball at St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy.

Mays is reportedly scheduled to appear in front a judge at 3 p.m. local time Monday. As of this report, CSUB hasn’t released an official statement on Mays’ arrest. However, the school did confirm to 23 ABC News in Bakersfield that Mays is on administrative leave.

Rod Barnes has been the head men’s basketball coach at CSUB since 2011. He led the team to a 14-19 overall record last season and an 8-12 mark in conference play.