Officers from the human trafficking task force posed as sex buyers and posted undercover advertisements soliciting sex in the three-day sting.<\/p>\n
Fourteen alleged sex buyers were arrested and face solicitation charges – while nine adult potential victims and a 16-year-old girl were rescued, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n
“Child welfare services and adult and juvenile support service advocates were on scene to provide support as needed,” officials said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0San Diego<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Comic-Con convention told Sky’s US partner network NBC News the results of the operation were “very disturbing” and that it had not been aware of the sting.<\/p>\n “It is our understanding that the arrests were made outside of the event. We work closely with a variety of law enforcement entities throughout the year and stand ready to assist in any way we can,” it said.<\/p>\n California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement that sex traffickers “capitalise on large scale events such as Comic-Con to export their victims for profit”.<\/p>\n “These arrests send a clear message to potential offenders that their criminal behaviour will not be tolerated,” he said.<\/p>\n “We are grateful to all our dedicated partners involved in the San Diego human trafficking task force, whose collaboration has been invaluable.<\/p>\n “We take great pride in our office’s commitment to uplifting vulnerable Californians by offering them assistance and guidance when they need it most.”<\/p>\n Stars at this year’s\u00a0Comic-Con<\/strong><\/a>, which has attracted more than 130,000 visitors in recent years, included\u00a0Ryan Reynolds<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Hugh Jackman<\/strong><\/a>, who promoted their film Deadpool and Wolverine, and Iron Man star\u00a0Robert Downey Jr<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The 59-year-old announced he will\u00a0return to the Marvel film franchise<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0as the villain Doctor Doom.<\/p>\n Source: \u00a0![\"Sky](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sky-news-logo-1.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/a> news.sky.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"