SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CA (MPG) - In 2016, California passed SB 1322, which decriminalized the acts of prostitution for sex workers under the age of 18.  Unfortunately, many traffickers use sex workers under 18 because it insulates them.  This law, coupled with SB203 (2020), makes it virtually impossible for law enforcement to engage with under-aged sex workers to the point where rescue intervention is restricted.

In 2021, California passed SB 357, which repealed the law that makes it a crime to loiter with intent to commit prostitution, and applicable evidence is no longer enforceable, including dress and geographical location as a reason to investigate acts of prostitution.  Law enforcement can no longer use the misdemeanor crime of loitering to investigate and enforce the crime of prostitution.  Law enforcement can no longer solely use their expertise in identifying prostitutes through behaviors, even to make detentions of reasonable suspicion.

Despite these challenges, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office conducted a large-scale operation combating human trafficking and childhood prostitution.  In conjunction with allied federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, HSI, ATF, CDCR Parole, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, and Sacramento County Probation, the 7-day operation spanning over three weeks across Sacramento County aimed to rescue victims of human trafficking and targeted sex buyers and human traffickers.

The operation yielded 102 arrests, 31 of which were male sex buyers and three felony sex traffickers.  Most notably, three juveniles, ages 13, 15, and 16, were rescued as a result of these operations.  For more information about this issue, please visit our social media channels on Facebook and Instagram and watch our related videos on YouTube.