Federal, state, and local authorities are joining forces to combat human trafficking in the Figueroa Corridor of South Los Angeles, an area where they said girls as young as 11 years old have been sold for sex.
On the 3.5-mile stretch of Figueroa Street, from Gage Avenue to Imperial Highway, children and women are exploited by criminals who are often members of street gangs, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said at a news conference on Sept. 4.
“Especially at night, this area becomes an outdoor bordello,” Estrada said. “What we see in the Figueroa Corridor is a human rights tragedy each and every night.”
Many of the victims are recruited from foster care or group homes, where they were placed after suffering abuse or neglect, authorities said. When foster children reach adolescence, they are often moved to a group home, making them more vulnerable to human traffickers.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has performed numerous operations in the area that includes residential neighborhoods, a variety of businesses, and 23 churches, according to Chief Dominic Choi.
Of the 84 victims rescued in recent years, the youngest was 11 years old, he said.
“This is a humanitarian crisis,” Choi said. “We need to rescue more and more victims. Our women, youth, and communities deserve better.”
The pimps operate in public view, sometimes patrolling the street in their cars while keeping an eye on the girls, according to local outreach workers familiar with the corridor.
The workers told The Epoch Times last year that some of the pimps have purchased homes in the area to use as bases of operation, using the names of women working for them.
The outreach workers say prostitution in the corridor has grown since Jan. 1, 2023, when a new law—the Safer Streets for All Act, authored by San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)—made it legal to loiter with the intent to commit prostitution.
The law repealed a section of California’s penal code that criminalized loitering with the intent of engaging in sex work. Wiener said the law disproportionately targeted black women and transgender individuals based on their appearance.
State lawmakers rejected an attempt in April to recriminalize loitering for prostitution with Senate Bill 1219. Members of the state Senate’s Public Safety Committee declined to bring the bill forward for a vote.Focus on Federal Charges
By joining forces, the Los Angeles-area law enforcement agencies hope to crack down on some of the corridor’s worst offenders by charging them with federal offenses.
The city of Los Angeles, the LAPD, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and the county’s district attorney are collaborating on the initiative in hopes of helping the victimized young women and girls stay off the streets.
Several actions have already been taken. Four motels in the corridor were closed, and strict restrictions have been placed on five other motels to discourage prostitution, officials said.
Representatives from each agency are also meeting regularly for training and coordination.
The group announced several criminal cases on Wednesday, including the arrest of Christian Brandon O’Neal Scurlock, 21, of Moreno Valley. Scurlock was arrested Aug. 7 and later indicted for allegedly sex trafficking two minors, including a 13-year-old girl, and transporting them across state lines for prostitution, according to federal prosecutors.
A federal grand jury last month returned the indictment against Scurlock, charging him with two counts of sex trafficking of a minor and two counts of transportation of a minor in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution and criminal sexual activity.
According to court documents, a Las Vegas police officer stopped Scurlock after he was allegedly seen grabbing a young girl by the neck and pushing her into a car. Officers found the 13-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl inside the vehicle, along with several condoms.
Both victims were reported missing from California and told officers they usually worked on Figueroa Street, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Scurlock reportedly advertised himself on Instagram as a pimp, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported. He pleaded not guilty on Aug. 27 and is scheduled for a jury trial on Oct. 7.
In another case, Nanci Jasmin Castillo, 31, and Jonathan Gonzalez-Reyes, 38, both of Anaheim, are charged in a six-count federal grand jury indictment for allegedly befriending a 13-year-old girl, giving her alcohol, and sexually assaulting her. They also allegedly gave the victim the anti-anxiety medication Xanax, causing her to go in and out of consciousness as they took photographs and made videos of the assault, according to federal prosecutors.
Castillo and Gonzalez-Reyes pleaded not guilty to charges of child pornography possession and distribution and are scheduled to go to trial in March 2025.
In another case, Donavin Dwayne Bradford, 33, of South Los Angeles, is serving a life sentence in federal prison after being convicted of recruiting and enticing teenage girls as sex workers, according to federal prosecutors.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said although the city had been working to fight against the problems on Figueroa for years, it was time to hold criminals involved in prostitution accountable.
“Often, people think of human trafficking as something that happens only in other countries, but it happens in our own city,” Bass said. “Children should never be referred to as prostitutes.”
John Fredricks contributed to this report.
