Authorities in California arrested nearly 500 people in a sex trafficking crackdown in the state.
American Military News reports:
Authorities on Tuesday announced the results of a statewide crackdown on human trafficking that resulted in nearly 500 arrests and more than 80 sex workers being helped.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva detailed the results of the weeklong campaign, dubbed Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, which involved dozens of agencies around California. Villanueva said 34 people suspected of trafficking or exploiting sex workers were arrested, along with 201 people who were allegedly caught trying to buy sex. He did not account for the remaining arrests. About six dozen adults and eight minors were “rescued,” the sheriff said.
“All across the state, law enforcement agencies joined us to send a message to pimps, exploiters and buyers that it is unacceptable to buy another human being for sexual purposes,” Villanueva said.
The Blaze reported on the announcement earlier this past week:
Alan Smyth, CEO of the advocacy group Saving Innocence, confirmed that big sporting events “absolutely garner an increase in trafficking of both adults and minors.”
“I can tell you, from an agency that’s on the ground, embedded with advocates and survivors that … we have seen repeatedly, over and over again, an uptick [in human trafficking] and our services required,” he said.
Santa Ana Police Commander Jose Gonzalez explained during Tuesday’s news conference that many victims are “lied to in the beginning, and have gotten so deep it’s difficult to find a way out.”