Super Bowl anti-human trafficking operations lead to 73 rescued, 29 arrested in Bay Area
As thousands visited the Bay Area for the Super Bowl, a task force of law enforcement agencies and undercover investigators focused on combating human trafficking.
“There were over 20 different analysts, local, state, federal and non-profit partners, all providing real-time intelligence packets that we were disseminating on the ground to our law enforcement partners. This had never been done before,” said Lt. Josh Singleton.
Lt. Singleton is the Commander of the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force.
“Where has human trafficking occurred the most in the Bay Area?” asked ABC7 Eyewitness News reporter Luz Pena.
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“There were several hot spots, some of the hot spots we saw down south like Salinas, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Vallejo. Ultimately, human trafficking can happen anywhere and a lot of times it happens in the public eye, and they’re not even aware of it,” Lt. Singleton said.
Twenty-nine traffickers were arrested and 73 sex trafficking survivors rescued, including 10 minors.
“The youngest victim we saw was 12 years old, which is extremely tragic,” Lt. Singleton said.
Law enforcement is unsure whether the large number of arrests is due to an increase in trafficking or their combined efforts to stop it.
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“No comprehensive study has been done, so we don’t really know if the increase was a result of the sporting events or just the concerted effort of all the law enforcement agencies and social workers, who all came together to combat human trafficking during this time,” Lt. Singleton said.
Agencies were ready to offer more help after operations.
“At the beginning, the focus is on basic emergency needs? Do you have shelter? Do you have food? Do you have clothing? Do you have access to emergency medical care? Mental health support. And then once those issues are resolved, which sometimes can take 30 days, it can take 60 days, then we develop a long-term support plan,” said Perla Flores, director of domestic violence programs, the sexual assault and human trafficking for community solutions.
Investigators have recovered 20 victims in San Mateo County alone. That’s where we met San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
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“So far in this operation we have had two cases. Only two cases have come to us at this point. We have filed charges. One of them is a 19-year-old woman who is the trafficker. She is in our county jail facing human trafficking charges,” DA Wagstaffe said.
Despite these efforts, DA Wagstaffe said it was difficult to prosecute traffickers.
“We need two things. We need evidence that the trafficker committed the crime and, secondly, we need a cooperative victim. That’s the difficulty,” DA Wagstaffe said.
If survivors cooperate and there is evidence, prosecutor Wagstaffe said the traffickers could face sentences of 15 to 20 years or even life in prison.
The task force is now preparing for an influx of visitors coming to the Bay for the World Cup at Levi’s Stadium, which will take place in June and July.
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