A three-day undercover human sex trafficking sting at the San Diego Comic-Con Convention led to 14 arrests and the recovery of 10 potential victims.

Authorities said the potential victims included a 16-year-old girl.

According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the undercover operation was launched by agencies as part of the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force.

“Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large-scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit,” Bonta said in a statement, according to USA TODAY.

“These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated,” he added.

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 14 people were arrested on suspicion of solicitation, a misdemeanor,” The San Diego Union-Tribune noted.

Per USA TODAY:

Law enforcement officers went undercover as sex buyers to identify and arrest traffickers, as well as find potential victims, according to the attorney general’s officers.

Undercover police also posted ads seeking sex as part of the operation.

The comic book and pop culture event that concluded Sunday takes place at the San Diego Convention Center every summer, drawing over 100,000 people.

“When people use these events as an opportunity to prey upon minors, (Homeland Security Investigations) HSI and our law enforcement partners will find you and bring you before a court of law to face criminal charges,” Christopher Davis, acting special agent in charge for HSI San Diego, said in a statement. “There is no place for alleged predators to operate in our city.”

Authorities arrested 14 people and rescued 10 victims in a human trafficking sting that took place at #SDCC pic.twitter.com/EaDDWwscfF

— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) July 31, 2024

“Working together, teams identified and arrested more than a dozen individuals participating in these illegal acts in our City over the weekend,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said in a statement, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

“These results show our collective dedication to combatting human trafficking and holding criminals accountable are working,” he added.

#BREAKING: More than a dozen arrested in Comic-Con human trafficking sting https://t.co/qnxKZ818B5

— KTLA (@KTLA) July 31, 2024

From The San Diego Union-Tribune:

Child Welfare Services and support service advocates were on the scene to provide support to the victims, officials said.

The task force is a cooperative effort involving the state DOJ, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California Highway Patrol, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, National City and San Diego police, the county Sheriff’s Department, as well as prosecutors and probation officials. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service also assisted in the operation.

A DOJ spokesperson said 34 to 50 officers participated in the sting on any given day.

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