San Diego authorities arrested 14 people and rescued 10 victims, including a 16-year-old boy, after conducting an undercover human trafficking operation at the popular Southern California city’s massive Comic-Con International event over the weekend.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday that the arrests were part of a joint investigation by the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, which aims to “rehabilitate” sex trafficking victims and target sex buyers who use the annual convention to find potential victims.
From Thursday through Sunday, a task force including the FBI, Justice Department, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted a covert operation.
Comic-Con International is a comics and pop culture event that attracts over 100,000 fans to San Diego each year.
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A covert human trafficking crackdown at San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend resulted in 14 arrests. (Jerrod Harris/Getty Images)
“Unfortunately, sex traffickers take advantage of large-scale events like Comic-Con to exploit their victims and make a profit,” Bonta said in a press release.
“These arrests send a clear message to potential criminals that their criminal activity will not be tolerated. I am grateful to all of our dedicated partners who participated in the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force. Their collaboration has been invaluable. We are extremely proud of our office’s commitment to uplifting vulnerable Californians by providing them with help and guidance when they need it most.” — California Attorney General Rob Bonta
The operation targeted sex buyers and focused on rehabilitating potential victims of sex trafficking and apprehending traffickers.
The Attorney General’s Office said law enforcement agents posed as sex buyers to identify and contact potential trafficking victims and apprehend the traffickers. As part of the operation, law enforcement agents also posted false advertisements soliciting sex to apprehend buyers.
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta (AP Photo/Richie Pedronecelli/File)
According to authorities, the three-day operation resulted in the arrest of 14 sex buyers, the detention and service of nine adults who were potential victims of sex trafficking, and the capture of a 16-year-old girl.
“Teams worked together to identify and arrest more than a dozen individuals who were engaging in illegal activity in our city over the weekend. These results demonstrate that our collective commitment to combating human trafficking and holding criminals accountable is working,” said San Diego Police Chief Scott Wall.
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San Diego Comic-Con International (Araya Doheny/GC Images)
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“San Diego is proud to host special events like Comic-Con, and these well-attended events showcase our growing and beautiful city,” said Christopher Davis, Special Agent in Charge of HSI San Diego. “However, when people use these events as an opportunity to prey on minors, HSI and our law enforcement partners will find you, bring you to justice, and face criminal charges. There is no place for alleged predators to operate in our city, and HSI is committed to helping victims of these crimes.”
San Diego Comic-Con sent a statement to Fox News Digital denying any knowledge of the fraud investigation.
“Obviously, we find this very disturbing and while we were not aware of this operation, it is our understanding that the arrests were made outside of the event,” the statement read. “We have been working closely with various law enforcement agencies throughout the year and stand ready to assist in any way we can.”
