More than 500 arrests were made in a week-long, statewide anti-human trafficking operation, including in San Diego County, authorities said Tuesday.
The 10th annual Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, which was conducted from Jan. 21-27, involved more than 95 federal, state and local agencies.
Authorities say they made 539 arrests during the operation, including 40 suspected “sexual traffickers or exploiters” and 271 suspected “sex buyers.” Also, 54 adults and 11 juveniles were rescued, including a 14-year- old girl.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna announced the results of the operation at a Tuesday morning news conference at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles.
“Human trafficking and child exploitation are devastating crimes that prey on some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” Luna said.
In San Diego County, a 17-year-old girl was at the Parkway Plaza Mall in El Cajon when she was approached by a man who told her “she should be a model” and gave her a business card that had a phone number on it, law enforcement officials said.
When the girl called the number, she was told that she would be “doing date sex with guys at hotels.”
The girl told her mother, who contacted authorities, and the suspect was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking of a minor and other offenses.
In one Los Angeles County operation, task force personnel conducted an undercover “sex buyer” operation on a stretch of Holt Avenue in Pomona, Luna said. Twelve males, two of whom are registered sex offenders, were arrested on suspicion of solicitation of prostitution, Luna said.
Authorities noted that although the annual statewide operation is conducted each January, which is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, law enforcement personnel work year-round to target human traffickers.
City News Service contributed to this report.
