14 Arrests Made in Human Trafficking Sting at Comic-Con; 10 Victims Rescued
A human trafficking sting operation at San Diego Comic-Con resulted in more than a dozen arrests and nearly as many victims recovered … this according to Cali’s top attorney.
California AG Rob Bonta‘s office released an update Wednesday confirming law enforcement officials conducted a three-day long operation from July 25 to July 27 while the event was going on … noting big events tend to attract human traffickers.
According to officials … law enforcement personnel masqueraded as sex buyers to identify and contact trafficking victims — while also posting online ads to solicit and then arrest alleged Johns and would-be sex traffickers.
It gets even crazier though — a rep for the CA Attorney General’s Office tells us … out of the people who allegedly responded to these fake ads looking for a good time — 14 of them ended up getting arrested at various meet-up locations … and they’re now facing solicitation charges, among others.
Worth noting … we’re told the 14 individuals who were busted on solicitation of prostitution charges are NOT considered sex traffickers. Instead, we’re told the sex trafficking element of this story actually comes from prostitutes law enforcement encountered down in SD.
We’re told 9 adult sex workers and one minor sex worker were swooped up and saved as part of this operation — and the AG’s office says they’re hopeful this leads to the capture and arrest of the real ringleaders behind all this.
Tons of comic book fans came out in their best costumes for the weekends and attended the numerous SDCC panels … and, sounds like real-life superheroes were on the scene too.