Fourteen people have been arrested as part of an anti-human trafficking operation at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
The news comes from Variety, who reports that the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force conducted an operation during the event, which ran from July 25 through July 28, arrested fourteen people and recovered ten victims of sex trafficking.
“Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. He noted that these arrests will send “a clear message to potential offenders” and that he’s grateful to those involved in the operation.
As part of the operation, law enforcement posed as potential sex buyers and posted ads in an attempt to arrest those looking for such a thing. Nine of the victims recovered as part of the operation were adults, while one was 16-years-old.
Speaking about the arrests, San Diego Police Chief Wahl said, “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.”
Founded in 1970, Comic-Con International in San Diego is one of the biggest pop culture related events in the world, drawing around 100,000 people to the city each year. At Comic-Con, major companies announce and reveal more about their upcoming projects. Tickets for the event generally sell out very quickly.
Human trafficking is a serious crime. The National Human Trafficking Hotline can help if you believe you may have information about such a situation. You can find that group’s website here.
Published: Jul 31, 2024 05:43 pm