LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Federal and local officials are expected Wednesday to discuss ongoing efforts to eradicate “human trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors” on the Figueroa corridor in South Los Angeles.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón and Los Angeles Police Department interim Chief Dominic Choi will be on hand to discuss the collaborative effort at a news conference at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in downtown Los Angeles.
Since last year, a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional trafficking task force has been focused on the stretch of South Figueroa Street known as an epicenter of trafficking and criminal activity.
The task force aims to locate and assist trafficking victims, shut down illegal activity, identify, arrest and convict pimps and traffickers, and disrupt buyers of sex services from minors and trafficking victims. It is not aimed at prosecuting commercial sex workers, Feldstein Soto said.
The 6-mile stretch of South Figueroa Street has been a hub for underage sex work for decades, Feldstein Soto said, although recent attention from the city has led to a decrease in crime.
The task force and its partners have helped more than 60 minors get out of the sex work business on Figueroa and into safe housing, Feldstein Soto has said.
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