Reporting Deputy: Sergeant Jeff Hammond
File # N/A
Details:
During the week of January 23, 2023, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office participated in Operation Reclaim & Rebuild. Which is a multi-agency statewide initiative that focuses on rescuing victims of sexual slavery and human trafficking, identifying and arresting their captors, and disrupting demand for vulnerable victims. The Sheriff’s Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (RCAHT) oversaw the county operation in conjunction with the Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Station, San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station, Temecula Sheriff’s Station, Murrieta Police Department, Riverside County Gang Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, and local victim advocacy partners. Operation Reclaim & Rebuild is timed to coincide with National Human Trafficking Awareness Month and serves as a reminder that human trafficking will not be tolerated in California.
During the operation, 31 arrests were made throughout Riverside County for solicitation of prostitution, prostitution, and pandering. Various services and resources were provided and offered to seven rescued victims. Throughout the state, Operation Reclaim & Rebuild resulted in 368 arrets and 131 rescues. The operation targeted online prostitution and those whose demand for these unlawful activities fuels an illicit underground economy, both locally as well as across the State of California. Often, individuals engaging in acts of prostitution are being forced to commit sexual acts against their will. The goal of RCAHT is to not only arrest suspects, but to identify as many victims as possible, and provide those victims with resources to escape and heal.
Prostitution is not a “victimless” crime. Those victimized by commercial sexual exploitation frequently have long histories of emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse or trauma in their backgrounds. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates 1 in 6 endangered runaways reported are likely victims of sex trafficking. Sex trafficking victims are often subjected not only to severe forms of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of their trafficker but are also frequently physically and sexually assaulted by those that solicit them for prostitution.
Arrested during the operation for solicitation of prostitution were:
Samuel Gorden, 62 of Moreno Valley
Allan Miller, 40 of Murrieta
Raymond Delfin, 29 of Riverside
Elvis Ponce, 19 of Perris
Mofeed Ismail, 38 of Moreno Valley
Tam Phan, 40 of Chino
Javier Avila, 26 of Moreno Valley
Brian Oswald, 30 of Claremont
Terrion Engram, 37 of Moreno Valley
Jose Molina, 36 of Moreno Valley
Kevin Grannis, 39 of Moreno Valley
Nicholas Wyhowanec, 34 of Colton
Vicente Sanchez, 35 of San Jacinto
Steven Brown, 58 of Hemet
Todd Black, 53 of San Dimas
Reijiro Brown, 49 of Moreno Valley
Jorge Cartagena, 49 of San Bernadino
Ivan Dizon, 31 of Riverside
Randeep Singh, 38 of Banning
Ulises Gonzalez, 44 of Perris
Noah Garcia, 22 of Hemet
Blake Sharaf Alhilo, 24 of Rancho Cucamonga
Juan Higuera, 32 of Menifee
Kejona Graus, 29 of Murrieta
Roberto Rosas-Castillo, 42 of Wildomar
Christopher Hay, 41 of Wildomar
Jacob Provost, 39 of Temecula
Bryce Mastin, 29 of Lake Elsinore
Marcus Gill, 19 of Menifee
Bryan Gabriel, 35 of Temecula
The following was arrested for Pimping and Pandering:
Nathaniel Tolbert, 18 of Riverside
Subjects arrested during this operation were transported to the detention center in closest proximity to the operational area(s) each day.
The Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force seeks to disrupt and dismantle sex trafficking rings operating within Riverside County and will aggressively identify, pursue, and apprehend those who seek to exploit those who are most vulnerable. Through proactive enforcement operations, RCAHT works to reduce future demand for sex trafficking by identifying and arresting sex buyers, and rescuing those forced into sexual servitude.
The Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force was formed in 2010. RCAHT addresses crimes involving the exploitation of victims via force, fraud, or coercion. These cases often involve the commercial sex trafficking of children, as well as incidents of forced labor, indentured servitude, debt bondage, or slavery. The RCAHT Task Force is a multidisciplinary task force that combines the investigative resources of both local and federal law enforcement. The RCAHT Task Force also provides victim services and education/outreach through partnerships with the non-profit groups Operation SafeHouse, Rebirth Homes, Run 2 Rescue, and Million Kids. The law enforcement component of RCAHT is currently composed of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations.
If you, or anyone you know has been a victim of human trafficking, you can contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline at (888) 373-7888 or contact your local law enforcement department.
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