LAPD interim Chief Dominic Choi told members of the corporate press that they’ve rescued 84 child-victims of human trafficking from a single stretch of road in Los Angeles. A press briefing on September 4 revealed that a 3.5 mile section of South Figueroa Street, between the 110 Freeway and Gage Avenue in southern LA was the epicenter for child trafficking and prostitution.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada called the issue a nightly human rights tragedy. He said that traffickers were recruiting and grooming minors from group homes and then forcing them to engage in prostitution.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass highlighted that girls as young as 12 were being recruited and introduced into prostitution. Several pictures taken on September 4 by local media revealed scantily clad women walking the street during the daylight hours.
L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feinstein went on a ride-along with police to see the strip for herself. She said that the officers took her on a “kiddie stroll” which was where predators could specifically look to purchase children to abuse.
All the authorities involved claimed to be actively working to address the problem; L.A. County District Attorney George Gascon said that one man his office charged had carved his initials onto the faces of his victims.
They also added that they need support from locals. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Human Trafficking National Hotline (888-373-7888), and if there’s an emergency in progress individuals are encouraged to call 911.
In national news, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) published a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas regarding a recent disclosure by that agency’s inspector general that the organization had lost hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied minors who came over the southern border and were distributed to “sponsors” in the U.S.
The IG’s report highlighted 32,000 kids who failed to appear for their court dates and ICE had no ability to track their current locations.
Hawley pointed out that unaccompanied minor children coming over the southern border are the most vulnerable population in America, as many are forced into labor or prostitution and cannot speak English.
