San Diego Comic-Con Rocked By Human Trafficking Sting

SDCC had a terrible human trafficking situation going on at the convention, which happens more often than not at these large fan gatherings.

The convention scenes around fandom have always had shady situations surrounding them. When you get a large percentage of socially inept people in a space where there's drinking and money to spend, you're bound to run into problems. Now, fandom has been rocked by a new scandal at San Diego Comic-Con involving a human trafficking sting set up by the California Attorney General.

According to the California Department of Justice Website, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a sting at San Diego Comic-Con, where police and other government agencies set honeytraps for men looking to pay for sex at the convention. Fourteen different men were arrested as sex buyers, though the task force didn’t mention that any of the actual traffickers had been brought to justice. The state also claims ten young women were liberated from their enslavers who had been forced into performing these acts. 

"Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large-scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit," Attorney General Rob Bonta said. "These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behavior will not be tolerated. We are grateful to all our dedicated partners involved in the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, whose collaboration has been invaluable. We take great pride in our office's commitment to uplifting vulnerable Californians by offering them assistance and guidance when they need it most."

The joint task force included San Diego Sheriff Kelly Martinez, San Diego Police Chief Wahl, HSI special agents Christopher Davis, and NCIS special agent Nicholas Carter, who came together to rid San Diego Comic-Con of this terrible situation. 

SDCC isn't the only place where pimps send women out to collect off of them, though it is a prime target. Anyone who's been to the convention has seen seedy-looking individuals trolling at hotel bars and other places in the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego for lonely nerds who would do anything to engage in these terrible acts. 

The majority of women involved in prostitution efforts like this are enslaved by their pimps, forced into quotas with the threats of violence or worse, and controlled so tightly that they often feel there's no means of escape. 

In this instance, one girl who was only sixteen years old was liberated by the joint task force here. Many of the women who get trapped in these situations are minors who come from broken homes and get lured in by a sense of security that their enslavers offer, adding to the insidiousness of this whole situation. 

"When people use these events as an opportunity to prey upon minors," HIS agent Christopher Davis said, "HSI and our law enforcement partners will find you and bring you before a court of law to face criminal charges. There is no place for alleged predators to operate in our city, and HSI is committed to helping the victims of these crimes."

Many comic book professionals and celebrities reacted with disbelief and outrage at finding out this occurred, though such human trafficking at large conventions happens more often than they might realize. Thankfully, this time, some justice was done. Fandom Pulse sends our thoughts and prayers to the survivors, especially the minor involved in this situation.

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