SAN DIEGO—A four-day anti-human trafficking operation in San Diego County resulted in 30 arrests of people accused of responding to advertisements offering sexual services, the California Attorney General’s Office said Nov. 7.
The initiative dubbed Operation Century Week was carried out in Encinitas, National City, San Diego, Santee, and other local areas between Nov. 1–4, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office.
Undercover law enforcement officers posed in online advertisements as people offering sex for sale. Those who responded to the ads agreed to meet up at certain predetermined locations, where they were arrested for alleged solicitation.
“Tackling human trafficking in our state takes cooperation and a multi-pronged approach,” Bonta said in a statement.
Operations like “Century Week” are one part of the solution to reduce such crime, he said.
“I’m grateful to all of our partners on the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force for their ongoing efforts to protect the safety and well-being of all Californians,” he said.
The 30 arrests have been referred to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office and San Diego City Attorney’s Office for potential prosecution.
Sex trafficking generates over $810 million a year in the county, according to San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan.
“We are fighting ... in this operation to hold sex buyers accountable. We will not tolerate this modern-day slavery of vulnerable children and young adults being bought and sold like a piece of pizza. Human beings are not for sale,” Stephan said.
More than 1,300 human trafficking cases were reported in 2020 in California, more than any other state, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
The California Attorney General’s Office statement on Operation Century Week states that human trafficking is prevalent in the hospitality, commercial sex, domestic work, and construction industries, and victims of human trafficking are also found among migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, providers of residential care and in California’s garment sector.
“Sex trafficking is a lucrative industry that has infiltrated our schools, our businesses, and our neighborhoods. It victimizes those who are most vulnerable and destroys lives,” San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott said.
