channel1la.com
Los Angeles #Mayor Karen Bass today joined United States Attorney Martin Estrada, Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto Announce Arrests and Progress Combating Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Children on Figueroa Corridor #LA
“Often, people think of human trafficking as something that happens only in other countries, but it happens in our own City,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. “This is an issue that community leaders and former foster youth have been working to fight back against for decades and today’s announcement continues a commitment to protecting children, many of whom have spent time in the child welfare system, and hold traffickers and abusers accountable.
I thank our law enforcement partners, especially the hardworking officers of LAPD’s 77th Division, for their continued work on this important issue.”“The Figueroa Corridor area is ground zero for human trafficking and victims are abused and exploited there every day,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “With this initiative, we are combining federal and local resources to focus on prosecuting more cases federally, particularly those involving victims who are children, and coordinating with our local partners to hold perpetrators accountable.
It is imperative that we take an all-hands approach to stop the human trafficking happening right in our backyard.”
“We are so proud of this unprecedented strategic collaboration, with all of our justice partners leveraging their resources. We have made tremendous progress in our efforts to combat the human trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors that has plagued the Figueroa Corridor for far too long,” said Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto.
“By disrupting the illegal activity and the businesses that have harbored it and with our U.S. Attorney taking the lead on federal felony prosecutions, we are declaring loud and clear that our children are not for sale, and our community will not be a hub for sex trafficking of minors.”