A sex trafficking operation during the recent Las Vegas Grand Prix yielded huge results for the city’s law enforcement officers cracking down on the problem.
Leading Metropolitan Police Department officers said Tuesday that 36 arrests were made for pandering charges, and 31 arrests were made on suspicion of trying to purchase sex, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
“I want the community to understand that this is not a crime that is specific to our tourist corridors. It’s occurring in our neighborhoods beyond the Strip,” one officer told reporters.
The Review-Journal also said seven individuals were arrested in covert law enforcement operations because they were allegedly meeting children for sex.
Authorities said 215 potential victims were identified and offered help in order to escape their situation. However, just 21 individuals accepted that offer.
Officers joined forces with a nonprofit group called Signs of Hope that assists victims of sexual assault, the outlet said.
Fans watch the action from the grandstand during the F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas at Las Vegas Strip Circuit on November 18, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)
“The organization’s R.I.S.E. program, which stands for Resources and Integration for Survivor Empowerment, provides services to human and sex-trafficking victims,” the report noted.
According to the Human Trafficking Capacity Building Center, sex trafficking is another type of human trafficking.
It said the federal definition of sex trafficking is “The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion or in which the person induced is under 18.”
According to another police officer involved in the operation, human and sex trafficking happens in Las Vegas on a daily basis, KTNV reported.
“Big events bring more people to our city, increasing awareness,” he added. The outlet said five juveniles were recovered during the operation and “identified as potential victims.”
The Review-Journal said officers did not reveal where the victims were found or the location of the arrests. However, the operation happened throughout the valley area.
Now, police area planning to combat human and sex trafficking during the Super Bowl in February that will take place at Allegiant Stadium.
