In conjunction with Human Trafficking Awareness Month,
Sheriff Jim McDonnell announced details and results from the third annual
‘Operation Reclaim and Rebuild’ enforcement operation, conducted by the
Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force and more than 30
participating federal state and local law enforcement agencies, and task
forces from across California. The three-day, statewide effort
aimed at combatting human trafficking took place between Thursday,
January 26, and Saturday, January 28, 2017, was conducted in various
mediums and met with positive results.
The press conference was held Tuesday, January 31, 2017, at the iconic
Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles. Sheriff McDonnell was
joined by District Attorney Jackie Lacey, Los Angeles District Attorney’s
Office; Deputy Chief Justin Eisenberg, Chief of Detectives, Los Angeles
Police Department; Special Agent In Charge Joseph Macias, Homeland
Security Investigations Los Angeles; Executive Director Kay Buck,
Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST); Human Trafficking
Bureau Captain Chris Marks, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department;
representatives from 15 the 30 participating federal, state and local law
enforcement agencies; and representatives from public and private service
providers.
Operation Reclaim and Rebuild focused on rescuing victims of sexual
slavery and human trafficking, providing victims with much-needed
services, identifying and arresting their captors, seeking successful
prosecutions, and disrupting the demand for vulnerable victims by
targeting their customers. Police agencies and other trafficking
task forces throughout our state joined in the enforcement operation to
send the clear message that California law enforcement shares a unified
mandate: Human trafficking must not be tolerated in our
state!
In preparation for the event, an operational planning meeting took place
in Los Angeles, with over 120 federal, state and municipal law
enforcement detectives from all over California in attendance.
Investigators focused enforcement operations wherever the trafficking of
human beings took place, from confronting the reality of sidewalk
prostitution by conducting “john” stings, to challenging the virtual
reality of the cyber world where traffickers believe they can operate
anonymously using the internet. The internet has furnished a vast
variety of opportunities for traffickers, but with the experience of
specially-trained cyber detectives who posed as vulnerable teenagers and
interacted with suspects on social media, traffickers and customers who
were anxious to exploit found their plans foiled.
Minors encountered during enforcement efforts were cared for by personnel
from various Department of Children and Family Services Agencies in each
county. In Los Angeles County, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and
Trafficking (CAST) and Saving Innocence (SI) coordinated the emergency
services response for victim care and collaborated with similar,
non-governmental victim service organizations throughout the state.
Operation Reclaim and Rebuild was widely successful in its endeavor with
28 commercially, sexually-exploited children and 27 adult victims being
recovered; 142 males arrested for the charge of Solicitation; and 36
males arrested for pimping. In total, 474 arrests were made.
As Sheriff McDonnell relayed the mission, efforts and results of
Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, he pointedly addressed the traffickers and
johns who conduct their illegal business in Los Angeles County and the
state of California, and reminded them of the gravity of their crimes and
the prosecution to accompany their actions when discovered. Next,
the Sheriff directly addressed the victims, “You are worthy of
more. And we will work tirelessly with our partners…to provide you
services and help you rebuild your life.”
“It is our job in law enforcement to protect children – all children –
especially those who have fallen prey to adults who seek to profit from
their bodies,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey
said. “We will not tolerate the sexual exploitation of children by
anyone, not the sex traffickers and not the people who pay to sexually
assault them.”
Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Joseph Macias
also spoke at the event said, “Our goal in this unprecedented
collaborative enforcement effort was two-fold.”
“First, to provide vital services to any sex trafficking victims we
encountered, so they can begin to reclaim and rebuild their lives,” he
said. “Second, to start the process to reclaim and rebuild the
neighborhoods that have been degraded by organized prostitution schemes
which not only exploit the vulnerable, but also often draw other criminal
enterprises into the area.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department would like to remind the
public of the dangers of posting “nude selfies”. To access the
letter from Sheriff Jim McDonnell on posting “nude selfies”, please visit
https://www.facebook.com/LosAngelesCountySheriffsDepartment/posts/1305629852797258
The following agencies and task forces participated:
Anaheim Police Department
Chino Police Department
Clovis Police Department
Coalinga Police Department
Concord Police Department
Costa Mesa Police Department
Delano Police Department
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Los Angeles
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fresno
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Monterey
Fresno Police Department
Homeland Security Investigations, Los Angeles
Homeland Security Investigations, Ventura
Kern County Sheriff's Office
Livingston Police Department
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force
Long Beach Human Trafficking Task Force
Long Beach Police Department
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Unified School District Police
Marina Police Department
Merced Police Department
Orange County Sheriff's Office
Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force
Oxnard Police Department
Placer County Sheriff's Special Investigations Unit
Pomona Police Department
Riverside County Sheriff's Office
Riverside County Anti-Trafficking Task Force
Roseville Police Department
Sacramento County Sheriff's Office
Sacramento Police Department
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office
San Bernardino County Trafficking Task Force
San Bernardino Police Department
San Diego County Sheriff's Office
San Diego Police Department
Santa Ana Police Department
Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office
Santa Barbara Human Trafficking Task Force
Santa Clara Sheriff's Office
Santa Monica Police Department
Simi Valley Police Department
South Gate Police Department
Torrance Police Department
Ventura County Sheriff's Office
Ventura County Coalition Against Human Trafficking
Ventura Police Department
For additional information contact Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Human
Trafficking Bureau Lieutenant David Oliva at 323-526-5156, Lieutenant
Kent Wegener at 323-526-5159, or the Sheriff’s Information Bureau at
213-229-1700.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Human Trafficking Bureau
houses the Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force, the
nation’s largest co-located human trafficking task force. This task
force is a collaboration of federal, state, county and local law
enforcement, social service agency and non-government and community-based
organizations investigating and serving the needs of commercially
exploited adults and minors victimized for the purpose of sex and
labor.
The Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force brings together
systems and disciplines to address victims’ needs through a
victim-centered, trauma- informed approach. The task force employs
a regionalized strategy which crosses jurisdictional boundaries to
identify and rescue victims, while aggressively pursuing traffickers and
buyers.
Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force Partners:
Federal
United States Attorney’s Office
Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement
Federal Bureau of Investigation
United States Marshals Service
United States Department of Labor
State
California Attorney General
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
California Employment Development Department
California Highway Patrol
County
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Investigation
Department of Children and Family Services
Los Angeles County Probation Department
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
City
Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Unified School District Police Department
Pomona Police Department
Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office
Non-Governmental/Community-Based Organizations
Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking
Saving Innocence
The Guardian Group (Hotel/Motel Outreach, Education and Signage)
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Executive Clergy Council
Pet Prescriptions Therapy Dog Program
Demand Abolition Cease Network
Restoration Diversion Services
Virtuous Woman, Inc.
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
International Institute of Los Angeles
Prepared by:
Lieutenant Kent Wegener
Human Trafficking Bureau
And
Deputy Lillian Peck
Sheriff’s Information Bureau
211 West Temple Street,
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-229-1700
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Jim McDonnell, Sheriff
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
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