Anti-sex trafficking operation nets 105 arrests in San Diego targeting would-be buyers

Law enforcement personnel in California arrested 120 people, including 105 in San Diego County, during a six-day operation last week targeting suspected commercial sex buyers and alleged human traffickers in four counties, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Monday during a San Diego news conference.

Dubbed “Operation Stand on Demand,” the focused effort began Jan. 19 and ran through Saturday, resulting in 25 arrests on suspicion of solicitation and eight on suspicion of pimping and pandering, Bonta said. The other 87 arrests were made on suspicion of loitering under a new state law that went into effect Jan. 1 and makes it a crime to loiter for the purpose of purchasing sex.

“The operation relied on targeted enforcement, surveillance of identified locations and the deployment of undercover officers, all with the goal of identifying sex buyers, traffickers and those exploiting people for profit,” Bonta said. “This work isn’t just about arrests, it’s about intervention, it’s about accountability and it’s about helping survivors begin the path to safety, recovery and healing.”

District Attorney Summer Stephan said members of the San Diego County Regional Human Trafficking Task Force made 105 arrests and citations locally at known trafficking “hot spots” in San Diego, National City, Santee and San Marcos.

Those individuals “thought that they were going to go out and buy a human being like they’re a hamburger or a slice of pizza,” Stepha...