14 arrested in alleged sex trafficking sting at San Diego Comic-Con

Law enforcement agencies executed a successful sting at last week’s San Diego Comic-Con.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday that the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force (SDHTTF) arrested 14 alleged “sex buyers” and recovered 10 potential victims of sex trafficking — one of whom was 16 years old — between Thursday, July 25 and Saturday, July 27. Support service advocates were provided on site for the victims.

The attorney general noted that the massive scale of events like SDCC often provides opportunities for sex trafficking to occur undetected. “Unfortunately, sex traffickers capitalize on large scale events such as Comic-Con to exploit their victims for profit,” Bonta said in a statement. “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.”

“Obviously we find this very disturbing and, while we were not made aware of this operation, it is our understanding that the arrests were made outside of the event,” a rep for Comic-Con tells Entertainment Weekly. “We work closely with a variety of law enforcement entities throughout the year and stand ready to assist in any way we can.”

The Task Force is a joint effort that includes the FBI, the Department of Justice, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the San Diego Police Department, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, and numerous other law enforcement agencies. During the three-day sting, SDHTTF agents posed undercover as sex buyers and posted fake advertisements to locate actual sex buyers. They also contacted potential victims of alleged sex trafficking and arrested their traffickers.

Acting HSI special agent Christopher Davis condemned traffickers in a statement. “San Diego proudly hosts special events like Comic-Con — highly attended events like these allow us to showcase our growing and beautiful city,” he said. “However, when people use these events as an opportunity to prey upon minors, 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.”

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San Diego Sheriff Kelly Martinez had similar sentiments. “There is no more insidious crime than human trafficking,” she said. “The coercion and violence which enslaves people for profit and places them into forced labor or sex is criminal. As the Sheriff I support the efforts of all our justice partners in holding perpetrators accountable. I appreciate the focus that was placed on the recent convention to identify and rescue victims of human trafficking.”

After a more muted convention in 2023 due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Comic-Con was back in full swing this year, with appearances from Avengers: Doomsday’s Robert Downey Jr., the cast of Deadpool and Wolverine, Pedro Pascal and his Fantastic Four: First Steps costars, the ensemble of Alien: Romulus, and the casts of The Boys, Abbott Elementary, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Interview with the Vampire, Those About to Die, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and numerous other hit shows.