"Sex buyers are not welcome!"
That's the message Shane Harris, president of the People's Association of Justice Advocates, wants would-be predators to heed coming into San Diego Comic-Con International this week. At a news conference Monday, along with city and county officials and community organizers, he said in recent years Comic-Con has been a hotbed for human trafficking.
"We want to make it clear that this event is a fun tradition, not a tradition that will become a human trafficking hotbed of events coming to our city," Harris said. "And so it is on all of us to keep our city safe during this annual event, to do what we can to make it clear that human and sex trafficking is not welcome here at Comic-Con, here in San Diego."
If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, call (858) 560-2191 or (800) 344-6000.
During last year's Comic-Con, authorities launched a sting operation against human and sex trafficking that led to 14 arrests and 10 victims recovered, including a 16-year-old. This year, advocates and authorities are being proactive in warning about the consequences of human and sex trafficking.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said Comic-Con itself is not the problem. Sex predators, however, are attracted to big events, such as the pop-culture convention, to target their victims.
"For some reason, when people are in a tourist state, they think it's okay to buy people for sex," she said. "They think it's part of the entertainment, but it is no entertainment. It's about abuse, exploitation, about enslaving young girls, young women and boys and men."
San Diego County, with its proximity to the border, ranks 13th in the country for child sex trafficking, according to the FBI. The agency said the region sees as many as 8,000 victims each year. And many of the victims are LGBTQ+ boys.
San Diego Police Department said it will have a big presence to make sure the event and everyone are safe. The department is focused on the preservation of life, both emotional and physical, Lt. Travis Easter said.
"It really impacts not just youth but everybody, and that's something that we don't want people to be subjected to," he said. "And we do our best efforts to make sure that we combat that in every forum and to have officers available to respond to people and be available so that way they can reach out."
After the sting operation last year, Harris and Stephen pushed for the passage of Assembly Bill 379, which would increase the penalties for soliciting a minor for sex. That bill, which passed the Legislature earlier this summer, is on Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk awaiting his signature.
If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, call (858) 560-2191 or (800) 344-6000. Hotline staff are available 24/7.
