Human Trafficking Police Sting Results In 5 Arrests In San Rafael
SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF) -- San Rafael police arrested five men Friday on suspicion of human trafficking offenses.
The arrests were part of an annual Operation Reclaim and Rebuild statewide enforcement effort coordinated by the Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force between Thursday and Saturday, police Sgt. Carl Huber said.
The focus of the Marin County enforcement was to arrest men who were willing to pay to have sex with a minor under 14 years old or with adults.
Men responded by text and phone to Internet advertisements and were arrested when they arrived at a designated meeting location, Huber said.
The operation's other focus was on finding adult and juvenile victims of human trafficking and arresting their traffickers. Law enforcement officers responded to Internet advertisements to draw females and traffickers to a designated meeting location. Officers referred the females to services and identified and arrested traffickers, Huber said.
San Rafael police cited and released Alejandro Lopez-Garcia, 42, of San Rafael, for soliciting an adult for prostitution.
Michael Ray Henry Jr., 33, of Oakland, was arrested on suspicion of pandering and was booked in the Marin County jail.
Walter Artemio Diaz-Giron, 32, Mauricio Barbosa-Martinez, 36, and Edwin Hernandez-Vasquez, 26, all of San Rafael, were arrested on suspicion of contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sex act and booked into Marin County Jail.
A 23-year-old Oakland woman was detained and offered services from Community Violence Solutions, Huber said.
