Fourteen people have been arrested following a sex trafficking investigation that took place at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, according to a press release from the California Attorney General’s office. Ten people were rescued. The San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force planned the bust three days ahead of the annual convention. The task force reported that among the victims they rescued was a 16-year-old teenager.
Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office spoke out about the investigation in a statement, saying, “Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large-scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit. These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated.”
The Attorney General’s office added that law enforcement “worked undercover as sex buyers to identify and contact potential victims of trafficking and arrest their traffickers.”
Authorities arrested 14 people and rescued 10 victims including a 16-year-old during an undercover human trafficking sting at the San Diego Comic-Con Convention. pic.twitter.com/prmN8u0scf
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 31, 2024
“The anti-human trafficking operation targeted sex buyers, and focused on recovering potential victims of sex trafficking, and arresting traffickers,” Bonta’s office explained in the statement, adding that “undercover law enforcement personnel also posted undercover advertisements soliciting sex to arrest sex buyers.”
“As a result of the three-day operation, 14 sex buyers were arrested, nine adult potential victims of sex trafficking were recovered and offered services, and one 16-year-old juvenile was recovered,” the statement concluded.
San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez noted that “there is no more insidious crime than human trafficking,” according to multiple outlets.
“The coercion and violence which enslaves people for profit and places them into forced labor or sex is criminal,” Martinez added. “As the Sheriff, I support the efforts of all our justice partners in holding perpetrators accountable. I appreciate the focus that was placed on the recent convention to identify and rescue victims of human trafficking.”
SDCC takes place annually at the San Diego Convention Center. The convention typically brings in more than 100,000 comic book and pop culture fans to attend various screenings, celebrity sightings and other thematic events.
No further details have been publicly disclosed about the 14 suspects at the time of publication.
If you or anyone you know has been sexually abused, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing, recovering and more.
