Gangs increasing presence in human sex trafficking in San Bernardino County

Doug Saunders and Beatriz E. Valenzuela (Daily Bulletin) | January 27, 2013

Those fighting in the war to end human sex trafficking say gangs are getting involved in the activity because women and girls are seen as a renewable commodity.

“With the drugs, you can only sell them once, but with a girl, they can be sold up to 30 times a day,” said Juana Zapata with the Chino-based nonprofit group Freeing American Children from Exploitation and Sexual Slavery. “And these girls don’t get a day off.”

He was one of the more than 50 people who participated in Sunday’s Walk Against Human Traffic in Chino Hills.

According to Zapata, there is a misconception that many girls who are victims of trafficking are forcibly taken from their homes.

“Most of the girls aren’t kidnapped,” she said. “We’re working a case where one girl was essentially sold by a family member. Other times they’re betrayed by friends.”

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has called human trafficking a low-risk and high-reward crime for gangs.

According to Harris, domestic gangs and Mexican cartels have expanded from trafficking guns and drugs to trafficking humans.