After last week's San Luis Obispo human trafficking sting operation, six people were arrested and one is now under investigation.
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow, the county sheriff's office, and the task force dedicated to combatting human trafficking garnered a win in preventing the sexual exploitation of minors.
“For us to be able to arrest six and investigate a seventh in a three-day, very short operation," Dow said. "That's just scratching the surface."
Editor's Note: County officials initially said seven people were arrested, which KSBY reported. Officials have amended that number to six arrested and one under investigation.
Dow also says it’s an uphill battle fighting against human trafficking — a problem that affects the entire state.
Dow says local law enforcement officers routinely go to other counties like Orange County and Los Angeles County where human trafficking is more prevalent to become more experienced here in SLO County.
“We bring our task forces together to be as effective as we can to disrupt and dismantle trafficking operations in that region,” he said.
San Luis Obispo County officials also partner with non-profits like DeliverFund, which has developed the largest curated data set on human trafficking in history.
According to its chief of operations, Shane Erickson, the partnership with SLO County is cutting the time to analyze and pinpoint human traffickers from as much as 21 days to six hours.
“I would call them a force multiplier and a resource multiplier," Dow said. "They're not an employee of our organization, and yet they bring to us expertise and real great skills in terms of data mining information that's out on the internet.”
However, the problem still persists.
According to Julie Kadis and Leann Eddy with the county's social services department, since January of 2024, there have been 221 referrals of sexual abuse and six for human trafficking.
They said in an e-mail to KSBY: “We know this number is underreported,” adding that “children and youth in foster care are at the greatest risk of exploitation.”
But with arrests like the ones made last week and the resources and groups like the anti-human trafficking task force, the county has made a priority of putting a stop to human traffickers.
“These things are important because they let the public know — and the perpetrators know — that this is a crime and it will be prosecuted in our county,” San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office victim advocate, Dona Reed, said.
According to Kadis and Eddy of the county's social services department, there are seven active human trafficking cases involving children in San Luis Obispo County which includes cases of commercial sexual exploitation of children, forced criminality, and labor trafficking.
