Attorney General Rob Bonta of California stated on Wednesday that a human trafficking raid at San Diego Comic-Con resulted in the arrest of fourteen persons.
According to a news release from Bonta’s office, the sting was carried out by the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force of the California Department of Justice from Thursday to Saturday during the comic book and pop culture festival in downtown San Diego.
According to the attorney general’s office, law enforcement agents pretended to be sex purchasers in order to locate and get in touch with possible victims of human trafficking and apprehend their traffickers. To apprehend purchasers, they also published undercover advertisements that encouraged sex.
According to the announcement, police found 10 possible victims, including a 16-year-old, and arrested 14 alleged sex purchasers. To support the victims, Child Welfare Services and additional service advocates were there.
According to the announcement, Bona is cited as saying, “Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit. These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated. We are grateful to all our dedicated partners involved in the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, whose collaboration has been invaluable.”
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“There is no more insidious crime than human trafficking,” San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez stated. “The coercion and violence which enslaves people for profit and places them into forced labor or sex is criminal. As the Sheriff I support the efforts of all our justice partners in holding perpetrators accountable.”
“The San Diego Police Department is a proud member of the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl added. “Working together, teams identified and arrested more than a dozen individuals participating in these illegal acts in our City over the weekend.”
