Fourteen people were arrested on charges of human trafficking and 10 victims of said trafficking were rescued at this year’s Comic-Con, according to the attorney general’s office.
Comic-Con, an annual convention that touts comic book, movie, and TV news, has been a hot spot for human trafficking, according to a press release by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The California Department of Justice and the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force conducted a sting operation from July 25 to 27, looking for human trafficking connected to the convention.
“Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large-scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit,” Bonta said. “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.”
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl added that at least one of the 10 victims rescued was 16 years old.
“The San Diego Police Department is a proud member of the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force,” 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 combating human trafficking and holding criminals accountable are working.”
Law enforcement posed as “sex buyers” to contact victims and posted ads to contact the traffickers, according to the release. Child Welfare Services and other support were on the scene during the operation.
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Despite the arrests, law enforcement touted the annual convention as a boon to the city.
“San Diego proudly hosts special events like Comic-Con — highly attended events like these allow us to showcase our growing and beautiful city,” acting special agent Christopher Davis said. “However, when people use these events as an opportunity to prey upon minors, HSI and our law enforcement partners will find you and bring you before a court of law to face criminal charges. There is no place for alleged predators to operate in our city and HSI is committed to helping the victims of these crimes.”