The Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (RCAHT) in partnership with the La Quinta Special Enforcement Team, Palm Desert Special Enforcement Team, Lake Elsinore Special Enforcement Team, Temecula Special Enforcement Team, Riverside Police Department and Murrieta Police Department effected 64 arrests during a nearly week-long proactive enforcement operation that targeted online prostitution and those whose demand for these unlawful activities fuels an illicit underground economy, both locally as well as across the State of California. Riverside County’s role in this operation, dubbed Operation Reclaim & Rebuild, ran for four consecutive days before concluding on Jan. 28, 2021. Operation Reclaim & Rebuild is an annual multi-agency statewide initiative that focuses on rescuing victims of sexual slavery and human trafficking, identifying and arresting their captors, and disrupting demand for these vulnerable victims. Operation Reclaim & Rebuild is timed to coincide with National Human Trafficking Awareness Month and serves as a reminder that human trafficking will not be tolerated in California.
Last year’s “Operation Reclaim & Rebuild” included participation from over 70 law enforcement agencies statewide and resulted in 76 adult and 11 minor victims being recovered; 266 males arrested for the charge of Solicitation; and 27 suspected traffickers and exploiters arrested. In total, 518 arrests were made.
For this year’s operation, RCAHT task force members and our allied Riverside County law enforcement partners held operations in the cities of Lake Elsinore, La Quinta, Murrieta, Riverside, Palm Desert and Temecula. Over the span of four consecutive days, the task force arrested 61 males and one female for solicitation of prostitution, one male for soliciting a minor for lewd purposes, and one male for supervising/aiding a person to commit prostitution.
RCAHT Task Force members also made contact with two adult females believed to be victims of sex trafficking. Initial investigations led the task force to believe these subjects were being forced to engage in acts of prostitution against their will. The identity of these victims will not be released pursuant to state confidentiality laws. The victims were referred to victim services for assistance as the investigation into their sex trafficking continues.
RCAHT Task Force members placed decoy advertisements on popular classified advertisement web sites commonly used for the solicitation of prostitution. These RCAHT Task Force members then responded to prospective customers who replied to these advertisements. Once an agreement for prostitution was brokered, the customers were arrested upon their arrival at a pre-determined meeting location. Concurrently, other task force members negotiated agreed upon acts of prostitution based upon other escort advertisements that were posted online in the area. In these instances, females who responded to the undercover task force members posing as customers were directed to meet. After their arrival and an interview, if the females were determined not to be victims of human trafficking, they too were arrested.
Subjects arrested during this operation were transported to the detention center in closest proximity to the operational area(s) each day. During this multi-day operation, bookings occurred at the John B Benoit Detention Center in Indio, Cois M. Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, and the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside. Following booking, each arrestee was ultimately released upon their written promise to later appear in court.
The RCAHT Task Force extends its sincere appreciation to the Southwest Sheriff’s Station, Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station, Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station, Thermal Sheriff Station, Riverside Police Department, and Murrieta Police Department for their support in conducting these joint operations. Without the commitment of personnel and resources from each of these participating agencies, these operations would not have been met with the same level of success.
Prostitution is not a “victimless” crime. Ninety-five percent of sex trafficking victims are women or children. Those victimized by commercial sexual exploitation frequently have long histories of emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse or trauma in their backgrounds. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates 1 in 6 endangered runaways reported are likely victims of sex trafficking. Sex trafficking victims are often subjected not only to severe forms of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of their trafficker but are also frequently physically and sexually assaulted by those that solicit them for prostitution.
The Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force seeks to disrupt and dismantle sex trafficking rings operating within Riverside County and will aggressively identify, pursue, and apprehend those who seek to exploit those who are most vulnerable. Through proactive enforcement operations such as Reclaim and Rebuild, RCAHT works to reduce future demand for sex trafficking by identifying and arresting sex buyers.
Anyone with questions about this operation can contact Sergeant Eric Menchaca or Sergeant Jose Tijerina of the RCAHT Task Force at (951) 955-1700.
Republished courtesy of Riverside Sheriff. Photo credit: Riverside Sheriff.