It seems real-life superheroes appeared at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con following a human trafficking sting that led to multiple arrests. The sting operation at the renowned media convention, which attracts 100,000 attendees annually, led to over a dozen arrests and the rescue of nearly as many victims.
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According to the California Department of Justice’s San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, an operation aimed at recovering victims of sex trafficking and targeting sex buyers was conducted during the San Diego convention from July 25 to 27.
“Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large-scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit,” Bonta said, per The Hollywood Reporter. “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. [Their] 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.”
Details Behind the Comic-Con Human Trafficking Sting
The anti-human trafficking operation involved law enforcement officials going undercover as sex buyers to identify potential victims and apprehend their traffickers. Meanwhile, authorities also placed undercover ads to solicit sex, leading to the arrest of sex buyers.
San Diego Sheriff Kelly Martinez also weighed in on the Comic-Con trafficking sting.
“There is no more insidious crime than human trafficking,” Sheriff Martinez said in a statement. “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 placed on the recent convention to identify and rescue victims of human trafficking.”
The operation was a collaborative effort that united multiple agencies. These include the Department of Justice, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California Highway Patrol, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Also assisting were Homeland Security Investigations, National City Police Department, San Diego City Attorney’s Office, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, San Diego County Probation Department, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, San Diego Police Department, Southwest Border High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service also provided assistance.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s Office is optimistic that this will result in the capture and arrest of the true ringleaders behind these events.