A sex trafficking ring operating at San Diego Comic-Con was busted in California over the weekend.
The operation took place from July 25 to 27, 2024, and led to fourteen arrests and ten victims being recovered. The victims were nine adults and a 16-year-old minor.
The bust was a joint investigation between the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force (SDHTTF) and California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Attorney General Bonta's office said in a press release that the anti-human trafficking operation "targeted sex buyers, and focused on recovering potential victims of sex trafficking, and arresting traffickers."
As part of the operation, undercover law enforcement personnel posted undercover advertisements soliciting sex to arrest sex buyers during the three-day operation.
“Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit,” said Attorney General 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.”
Over 100,000 people from all over the world attend Comic-Con annually.
San Diego Sheriff Kelly Martinez added, “There is no more insidious crime than human trafficking.”
“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.”
None of the perpetrators or victims have been publicly named at the time of publishing.
“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.”
