Posted in: Conventions, Current News, Events, Pop Culture, san diego comic con | Tagged: san diego, sdcc

San Diego Law Enforcement's Human Trafficking Sting At Comic-Con

San Diego Law Enforcement has successfully enacted a Human Trafficking sting aimed at those using San Diego Comic-Con to seek potential victims.

The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta has issued a press release regarding law enforcement activity during San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend to tackle human trafficking using the background of SDCC to operate. A sting operation was enacted led by Bonta's office and the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, targeting traffickers and buyers in downtown San Diego from Thursday, the 25th of July, to Saturday, the 27th, while Comic-Con was playing out.

They state that the operation targeted sex buyers and focused on recovering potential victims of sex trafficking and arresting traffickers, working undercover to identify and contact potential victims of trafficking and arrest their traffickers. They also ran their own adverts in the area to arrest sex buyers. They have claimed the arrest of fourteen alleged sex buyers, identifying nine adult potential victims of sex trafficking and one sixteen-year-old. They state that Child Welfare Services and adult and juvenile support service advocates were made available to provide support.

Rob Bonta stated. "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 County Sheriff Kelly Martinez stated, "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."

San Diego Police Chief Wahl stated, "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. This successful operation recovered 10 victims of human trafficking, including a girl of just 16 years old. These results show our collective dedication to combatting human trafficking and holding criminals accountable are working."

Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Carter, NCIS Southwest Field Office, stated, "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."

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