Standing against child trafficking
By Caleb Pugh, OurWeekly
Human trafficking has been a crisis across America, and with different avenues of conducting this type of heinous crime, authorities are at a loss in trying to solve the problem. The crime demographic has no bounds, and anybody could be a target, as many people question how little girls and women become trapped in such circumstances.
In Los Angeles, there is a famous street called Figueroa, where prostitution happens 24 hours, seven days a week. Driving along Figueroa Street in South Los Angeles, you will bear witness to girls and women of all ages offering sexual services to customers or just about anybody who is in the vicinity. Community residents and leaders are tired of seeing this affect their community and demand change, and so far, things are trending in that direction.
Figueroa Street has been a hotbed for human trafficking, prostitution, pimping, and illegal distribution of drugs for decades, and it has only gotten worse. Two years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that stopped the police from arresting loiters and prostitutes, and while some supported it, others were against it. “Instead of providing help to survivors, this bill is hurting them. It’s increasing demand,” said Vanessa Russell, founder of the anti-sex-trafficking organization Love Never Fails in the San Francisco Bay Area. “If there is no intervention allowed by law enforcement, fatalities will increase,” added Hannah Diaz, who was among survivors who joined Russell in opposing the bill.
Newsom answered those concerns by reminding people that the passing of the law does not equate to the legalization of prostitution or trafficking. “To be clear, this bill does not legalize prostitution,” Newsom said in a signing message. “It simply revokes provisions of the law that have led to disproportionate harassment of women and transgender adults, “ he said, noting that Black and Latino women are particularly affected.
The bill will bar police in California from arresting anyone for loitering with the intent to engage in prostitution. Sen. Scott Wiener (11th District) and other supporters said such arrest decisions often rely on an officer’s perception.
While the law was for good intentions, it made things worse. In the same year, many people, parents, and students at KIPP Academy of Opportunity and KIPP Empower Academy reported numerous strange activities at the nearby Palms motel on Figueroa. A person at the motel taking video of students; an argument that ended with a driver backing his car into a pedestrian and pinning him against a pole; a man using drugs openly and exposing himself to women who then got into a fight with three others; a baggie with “a large amount of a white substance” left in a planter; a wine bottle tossed from the motel property that shattered next to a line of children.
Motels over the decades were known to be involved in criminal activity, including aiding and increasing child trafficking and prostitution rings but without much evidence, law enforcement couldn’t take action against the owners of the motels.
“When I was a kid, prostitution was prevalent on Figueroa, and I’m 48 years old.” Janet Hughes, a community activist, said as she spoke about the history of Figueroa. “It baffles me that this problem has prolonged in our community this long and has gotten progressively worse to the point it’s affecting our kids,” Hughes mentioned that while prostitution was happening while she was growing up, it wasn’t overt as it is now, and today’s youth think the lifestyle is normal.
Moises Rosales, president of the Southeast Neighborhood Council, also agrees that enough is enough, and it’s time for change. “For the council, human trafficking is of the utmost importance to us, especially with minors involved. We are working with other organizations in the area to close the New Bay Motel and the Highlight Motel as they are both known for prostitution, trafficking, and violent crimes happening on their grounds.” Rosales said as he spoke about the next course of action for the council. “Business owners think the community is out to get them, and that is not the case, we need more local businesses in the area, but if your business is only successful because of thriving crime, then we don’t need or want you in the community.”
Since its inception in 2003, KIPP has worked to shutter the Palms Motel as it presented an immediate and direct danger to the children and the community. “One of the questions that people ask us a lot is, ‘Why build an elementary school and middle school on Figueroa, knowing that historically it’s a place of sex trafficking, prostitution, and crime?’ And I truly believe that’s the wrong question. I think the right question is ‘why haven’t we moved more urgently to ensure that this area is no longer known as an area of sex trafficking, prostitution, and crime,” said Chinedu Udeh, former KIPP Empower Academy School Leader. “Many of our students live in the surrounding community, and we firmly believe every child should be able to attend their neighborhood school and have it be a wonderful, safe environment.”
Black and Brown residents have been ignored for too long, and will march to free the land, in a call of action to liberate 12 motels along the Figueroa Corridor between Gage and Century,” wrote the Community Coalition in a statement. “The people are demanding community-based solutions that create a vibrant community with safe and permanent housing, access to healthy food, safe places, and green spaces to play. We have an opportunity to remove nuisance motels along the corridor and transform them into affordable housing stock that houses families and individuals experiencing chronic homelessness.”
In December of that same year, the Palms Motel was closed and demolished signaling a changing of times as the community celebrated the success of the protest and one less place fostering human trafficking and prostitution. “It’s bringing more positivity to the environment,” said Zeleana Jenkins, a sixth-grade teacher for KIPP Academy of Opportunity. “They can see that change can happen if we actually put our minds and our hearts and we come together to do something.”
The closure of the motel was only the beginning of the prioritization of protecting the kids and the community from these heinous crimes. In 2023, Newsom signed a bill that will increase penalties for those convicted of child sex trafficking. Senate Bill 14 will reclassify sex trafficking of minors as a “serious” felony, potentially resulting in a life sentence under the state’s “three strikes” law, which also applies to crimes such as murder and rape. “Human trafficking is a sick crime. With this new law, California is going further to protect kids,” Newsom said in a statement after he signed the bill in Sacramento. The impact of the bill was felt immediately by predators as 500 arrests were made injunctions to trafficking and child abuse.
On January 30, 2024, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna announced the results of the week-long Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, which included more than 95 federal, state, and local agencies. Authorities made 539 arrests during the operation, including 40 suspected “sexual traffickers or exploiters” and 271 suspected “sex buyers.” Also, 54 adults and 11 juveniles were rescued, including a 14-year-old girl, Luna said. “Human trafficking and child exploitation are devastating crimes that prey on some of the most vulnerable members of our community.”
“This week-long operation demonstrates that if you engage in human trafficking activities, harm our children, and destroy lives, there will be absolute consequences, and there is no refuge for predators in the state of California,” Luna said.
This story was originally published in OurWeekly.