Fourteen people were arrested and 10 people were rescued as part of a human trafficking sting at a San Diego, California Comic-Con event over the past weekend.
In a press release from California Attorney General Rob Bonta, it was revealed that as part of a joint investigation from the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force (SDHTTF), a three-day human trafficking sting resulted in “14 sex buyers” being arrested, nine adults who were “potential victims of sex trafficking” and a 16-year-old being rescued.
“Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit,” Bonta explained in a statement. 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.”
The three-day sting conducted between July 25-27 was “aimed at recovering victims of sex trafficking and targeting sex buyers” who were using the San Diego Comic-Con Convention in order to “seek out potential victims,” according to the press release.
“There is no more insidious crime than human trafficking,” Kelly Martinez, the Sheriff of San Diego County said in a statement. “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.”
Comic-Con is described as being a “premier event for all things comics and related popular art, including movies, television, gaming, interactive multimedia, and so much more,” according to the Comic-Con website.