A multi-jurisdictional operation resulted in the arrest of 48 individuals for alleged human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and other criminal offense in San Diego and National City, authorities announced on Tuesday.
Operation Better Pathways is a multi-day joint investigation through the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force (SDHTTF) that ran from Jan.9 through Feb.10. According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office, this was a broader, regional effort to combat human trafficking and sexual exploitation through targeted enforcement, relying on surveillance of known locations and undercover officers.
According to Bonta’s office, law enforcement went after sex buyers by posing as individuals offering sex for sale at those same locations. Sex buyers were then generally directed to an alternate location and arrested. Among other alleged violations, arrests during the operation ranged from human trafficking of a minor to assault with a deadly weapon.
A total of 41 individuals — including eight children — were offered support services.
“I personally visited the National City and San Diego City locations that this operation targeted and what I saw was appalling,” said San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan. “Young women being openly trafficked in broad daylight, with individuals paying for sex lined up like they were going through a fast-food drive-thru. As a result of this collaboration with our law enforcement partners, dozens of victims were offered services or were recovered, and trafficking was significantly disrupted in areas of the county that have been plagued with the negative ripple effect that this crime brings to a neighborhood.”
As part of the effort, San Diego County Child Welfare Services and adult and juvenile support service advocates were on the scene to provide assistance as needed. All of the potential victims and survivors were offered access to resources and supportive services.
“This operation sent a clear message: If you come to our neighborhoods to buy sex, be prepared to leave in handcuffs,” said San Diego City Attorney Mara W. Elliott. “We are committed to cleaning up our streets by prosecuting sex traffickers and buyers while obtaining help for victims forced into illicit activity.”
Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery where perpetrators profit from the control and exploitation of adults and children for sex or labor through force, fraud, or coercion. Human trafficking does not require movement across borders. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, there were more than 1,300 human trafficking cases reported in California in 2021 — more than any other state in the nation. In California, human trafficking is prevalent in the hospitality, commercial sex, domestic work, and construction industries.
Victims of human trafficking are also found among migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, providers of residential care, and in California’s garment sector.
If you or someone you know is being forced to engage in any activity and cannot leave, you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 to access help and services. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 9-1-1.
