SAN DIEGO, CA- On Thursday, August 1st, law enforcement authorities confirmed that 14 people were arrested and 10 victims of sex trafficking were rescued, including a 16-year-old girl, in an undercover sting operation at the Comic-Con International convention that took place in San Diego.
According to NBC News, in recent years the convention, which is dedicated to comic books and pop culture, has attracted crowds of over 130,000 and this year, the California Justice Department's (DOJ) San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force (SDHTTF) launched an undercover operation that targeted sex trafficking at the event.
The event took place frim July 25th to July 27th. According to a news release from prosecutors, the anti-trafficking operation targeted sex buyers and focused on recovering potential victims of sex trafficking, and arresting the traffickers. The release also said, "Law enforcement personnel worked undercover as sex buyers to identify and contact potential victims of trafficking and arrest their traffickers. As part of the operation, undercover law enforcement personnel also posted undercover advertisements soliciting sex to arrest sex buyers."
Fourteen sex buyers were arrested in the three-day operation and face solicitation charges. Nine adult potential victims of sex trafficking were recovered and a 16-year-old juvenile was also recovered. The release said, "Child Welfare Services and adult and juvenile support service advocates were on scene to provide support as needed."
In a statement, California Attorney General Rob Bona said, "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."
San Diego Sheriff Kelly Martinez said, "There is no more insidious crime than human trafficking. 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. I appreciate the focus that was placed on the recent convention to identify and rescue victims of human trafficking."
San Diego Police Chief Wahl said in a statement, "The San Diego Police Department is a proud member of the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force. Working together, teams identified and arrested more than a dozen individuals participating in these illegal acts in our City over the weekend ... these successful results show our collective dedication to combatting human trafficking and holding criminals accountable are working."
Acting Special Agent in charge for HSI San Diego said, "San Diego proudly hosts special events like Comic-Con — highly attended events like these allow us to showcase our growing and beautiful city. However, when people use these events as an opportunity to prey upon minors, HSI and our law enforcement partners will find you and bring you before a court of law to face criminal charges. There is no place for alleged predators to operate in our city and HSI is committed to helping the victims of these crimes."
Special agent in charge Nicholas Carter of the NCIS Southwest Field Office added, "Human trafficking is a grave violation of human rights and a crime that requires a concerted and unified response. Our participation in this joint task force underscores NCIS's unwavering commitment to our service members, their families, and the broader community from exploitation and abuse."
In a statement to NBC 7, the San Diego Comic Convention said, "Obviously we find this very disturbing and, while we were not made aware of this operation, it is our understanding that the arrests were made outside of the event. We work closely with a variety if law enforcement entities throughout the year and stand ready to assist in any way we can."
According to NBC News, in recent years the convention, which is dedicated to comic books and pop culture, has attracted crowds of over 130,000 and this year, the California Justice Department's (DOJ) San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force (SDHTTF) launched an undercover operation that targeted sex trafficking at the event.
The event took place frim July 25th to July 27th. According to a news release from prosecutors, the anti-trafficking operation targeted sex buyers and focused on recovering potential victims of sex trafficking, and arresting the traffickers. The release also said, "Law enforcement personnel worked undercover as sex buyers to identify and contact potential victims of trafficking and arrest their traffickers. As part of the operation, undercover law enforcement personnel also posted undercover advertisements soliciting sex to arrest sex buyers."
Fourteen sex buyers were arrested in the three-day operation and face solicitation charges. Nine adult potential victims of sex trafficking were recovered and a 16-year-old juvenile was also recovered. The release said, "Child Welfare Services and adult and juvenile support service advocates were on scene to provide support as needed."
In a statement, California Attorney General Rob Bona said, "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."
San Diego Sheriff Kelly Martinez said, "There is no more insidious crime than human trafficking. 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. I appreciate the focus that was placed on the recent convention to identify and rescue victims of human trafficking."
San Diego Police Chief Wahl said in a statement, "The San Diego Police Department is a proud member of the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force. Working together, teams identified and arrested more than a dozen individuals participating in these illegal acts in our City over the weekend ... these successful results show our collective dedication to combatting human trafficking and holding criminals accountable are working."
Acting Special Agent in charge for HSI San Diego said, "San Diego proudly hosts special events like Comic-Con — highly attended events like these allow us to showcase our growing and beautiful city. However, when people use these events as an opportunity to prey upon minors, HSI and our law enforcement partners will find you and bring you before a court of law to face criminal charges. There is no place for alleged predators to operate in our city and HSI is committed to helping the victims of these crimes."
Special agent in charge Nicholas Carter of the NCIS Southwest Field Office added, "Human trafficking is a grave violation of human rights and a crime that requires a concerted and unified response. Our participation in this joint task force underscores NCIS's unwavering commitment to our service members, their families, and the broader community from exploitation and abuse."
In a statement to NBC 7, the San Diego Comic Convention said, "Obviously we find this very disturbing and, while we were not made aware of this operation, it is our understanding that the arrests were made outside of the event. We work closely with a variety if law enforcement entities throughout the year and stand ready to assist in any way we can."
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