Inland Empire Child Exploitation and Prostitution Task Force Conducts Two-Night Operation, Rescues Two Minors

An Inland Empire task force and multiple local departments in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties conducted a two-night operation in the cities of Hemet, Ontario, and Riverside over the weekend that focused on the identification and recovery of victims of sexual trafficking, announced Bill Lewis, the Assistant Director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. ADIC Lewis made the announcement on behalf of multiple departments in the two counties.

The member agencies whose officers and agents participate on the Inland Empire Child Exploitation and Prostitution Task Force (ICEP) include: the Ontario Police Department; the Pomona Police Department; the Riverside Police Department; the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department; the San Bernardino Police Department; and the FBI. The task force investigates matters of child exploitation, primarily the sexual trafficking of minors.

On Thursday and Friday night, the ICEP Task Force coordinated and led several operations to identify and recover victims of sexual trafficking, resulting in the recovery of two juveniles, as well as multiple arrests on charges including pandering, pimping, prostitution, and human trafficking. The various investigations are ongoing.

The ICEP Task Force coordinated these efforts with the Riverside County Anti Human Trafficking Task Force (RCAHT), as well as with the Hemet Police Department; the Upland Police Department; and the Chino Police Department.

The cases for those arrested will be presented to the District Attorney’s Offices in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.

The ICEP is part of the FBI’s National Innocence Lost Initiative, established in 2003, to address criminal enterprises involved in the domestic sex trafficking of children. The program combines the resources of state and federal law enforcement agencies; prosecutors; social service providers; and non-governmental organizations, and training is provided with the assistance of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

- Additional information about the Innocence Lost Initiative

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FBI Press Relations: 310 996-3343