San Diego authorities arrested 14 people and rescued 10 victims, including a 16-year-old, during an undercover human trafficking operation at Comic-Con International, a huge and popular event in the Southern California city last weekend.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday’s arrests were part of a joint investigation by the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force aimed at “recovering” sex trafficking victims and targeting sex buyers who use the annual convention to seek out potential victims.
A special task force, including the FBI, Department of Justice and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), conducted an undercover investigation from Thursday through Sunday.
Comic-Con International is a comic book and pop culture event that draws more than 100,000 fans to San Diego each year.
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Fourteen people were arrested in an undercover human trafficking operation at San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend. (Jerrod Harris/Getty Images)
“Unfortunately, sex traffickers use large 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 offenders that criminal behavior will not be tolerated. I am grateful to all of our dedicated partners on the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force – their collaboration is invaluable. We take great pride in our agency’s work to uplift vulnerable Californians by providing support and guidance at a time when they need it most.” — California Attorney General Rob Bonta
The sting targeted sex buyers and focused on rescuing potential sex trafficking victims and arresting traffickers.
The Attorney General’s Office said law enforcement officers went undercover disguised as prostitutes to identify and contact potential trafficking victims and arrest the traffickers. As part of the investigation, law enforcement officers also posted undercover ads soliciting prostitution in order to arrest the prostitutes.
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli/File)
Officials said the three-day operation resulted in the arrest of 14 sex traffickers, the rescue and provision of services to nine adult potential sex trafficking victims and the rescue of one 16-year-old girl.
“Working together, the teams identified and arrested more than a dozen individuals engaged in illegal activity across the city over the weekend. This result demonstrates that our collective efforts in combating human trafficking and holding offenders accountable are 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 takes pride in hosting special events like Comic-Con, and these large-scale events provide an opportunity to showcase our beautiful, growing city,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher Davis of HSI San Diego. “But when someone uses these events as an opportunity to prey on minors, HSI and our law enforcement partners will find them, bring them to court and face criminal charges. There is no room in our city for suspected predators to operate, and HSI is committed to supporting the victims of these crimes.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Comic-Con International for comment.
