LOS ANGELES — Federal and local law enforcement officials Wednesday discussed a multi-agency effort to stamp out a so-called pipeline in which children and young adults in foster care are lured onto streets along the Figueroa corridor in South Los Angeles to work as prostitutes.
The 3.5-mile stretch of Figueroa Street stretching from Gage Avenue to Imperial Highway has been a hub for underage sex workers for decades. Women and girls in various states of undress can be seen walking the notorious “stroll” day and night while “johns” drive around the area looking to pick them up. Dozens of YouTube videos show the activity.
Since last year, a multi-jurisdictional task force has been focused on the epicenter of human trafficking and criminal activity, aiming to locate and assist trafficking victims, identify, arrest and convict pimps and traffickers, and disrupt buyers of sex services from minors and trafficking victims.
The effort is not aimed at prosecuting commercial sex workers, officials said.
During a news conference, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said that while human trafficking is a global problem, “you don’t need to look to some far-off country to find it. It exists right here … a short distance from downtown Los Angeles and a stone’s throw from USC.”
Estrada added that many of the youths working the streets are “from the foster care system. These victims are as vulnerable as it gets. What we see is a human rights tragedy playing out every night.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the issue “is a scourge on our society. This problem reveals a gap in the safety net that should be protecting these children.”
Roughly 100 young adults leave foster care in Los Angeles County each month because they are turning 21. At that point, they are frequently vulnerable to pimps, “and the next thing they know is they are being trafficked around the country,” according to Bass.
When a young person in a group home turns 21, for example, “we literally…
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