San Diego Comic-Con sex trafficking sting results in 14 arrests

An anti-sex trafficking operation at San Diego Comic-Con has resulted in 14 people being arrested.

From July 25 to July 27, the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force conducted a human trafficking sting “aimed at recovering victims of sex trafficking and targeting sex buyers using the San Diego Comic-Con Convention to seek out potential victims,” according to a release from the California Department of Justice (via Variety). Ten victims were recovered and offered services.

“Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalise on large scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“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. We take great pride in our office’s commitment to uplifting vulnerable Californians by offering them assistance and guidance when they need it most.”

“There is no more insidious crime than human trafficking,” said San Diego Sheriff Kelly Martinez. “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 Comic-Con is the largest comic and pop culture convention in the world, attracting roughly 100,000 people each year.

“There is no more insidious crime than human trafficking,” said San Diego Sheriff Kelly Martinez. “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.”

As part of the sting, law enforcement personnel went undercover as sex buyers to arrest traffickers and recover potential victims of human trafficking. By the end of the operation, nine potential adult victims and one 16-year-old girl were recovered.

“The San Diego Police Department is a proud member of the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force,” said San Diego Police Chief Wahl. “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.”

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Christopher Davis 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.”

At this year’s Comic-Con, the biggest film-related news was the announcement of Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the new role of Doctor Doom.

Deadpool & Wolverine stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman also made headlines for surprising fans with a screening of the film, and then welcoming a number of spoilery cast members to the stage.

For more help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.

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