In a wide ranging law enforcement operation targeting perpetrators of sex crimes, a multi-agency Santa Clara County taskforce arrested six traffickers and recovered dozens of women who had been exploited by the suspects, District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office announced Aug. 3.
The taskforce, working with the Morgan Hill Police Department, also investigated six massage parlors that had been suspected of commercial sex activity, resulting in citations for code and workplace violations at the establishments, the DA’s office said.
Operation Cross Country was spearheaded by the DA’s office and recently wrapped up its investigation into human traffickers who were exploiting young female sex workers at South Bay hotels, says a press release from the DA’s office. Investigators had set up stings at local hotels and arrested the trafficking suspects when they dropped off the sex workers.
Two of the traffickers brought guns to the arranged hotel encounters, and one brought his 2-year-old baby, authorities said.
In all, the operation recovered 23 women—several of them teens—who had been victimized by the trafficking suspects, the DA’s office said. The women were released after authorities provided them with services, including counseling, medical care, housing assistance and services for economic stability.
The six trafficking suspects face felony charges. If convicted, they face substantial prison sentences, the DA’s office said.
“Paying for sex is not a victimless crime,” Rosen said. “These young women are groomed, assaulted and exploited. If you spend money on these services, you are part of the problem. If you are a trafficker, you are the problem—and you are going to prison.”
Operation Cross Country was initiated by the FBI’s Innocence Lost national initiative, aiming to reduce sexual exploitation of juveniles by recovering trafficking victims. Efforts to recover the victims of these sex trafficking crimes took place July 19-30, with the DA’s Human Trafficking Taskforce leading the operations in coordination with San Jose Police and multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies, the press release continues.
Authorities are not naming the hotels where the stings and recovery efforts took place, in order “to protect future recovery operations,” says the press release.
In addition to the recent operations, the taskforce and the South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking also conduct regular outreach and training with hotel personnel to identify and report suspected human trafficking.
Also as part of Operation Cross Country, the taskforce worked with Morgan Hill Police to inspect six massage parlors that had been suspected of hosting commercial sex activity, the press release says. Most of the businesses are located along Monterey Road, and the investigation uncovered unspecified code violations at all six. One of the massage parlors was ordered to be closed for unsafe working conditions.
“DA Rosen would like to thank all participating agencies, including the SJPD Human Trafficking Taskforce, the Milpitas, Morgan Hill, and Santa Clara police departments, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of State, FBI, NCRIC, Community Solutions, YWCA, and AACI advocacy services,” adds the press release.
