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Log In. Please note: This feature is available only to subscribers; make sure you're logged in if you want to follow a story. Log In Subscribe. A huge multi-agency law enforcement operation in Sonoma County last week that targeted suspected prostitutes, pimps and their would-be clientele is part of a growing trend of collaboration and cross-pollination in the field of commercial sex and human trafficking enforcement, police said.
About law enforcement officers from 23 agencies as far away as Livermore and San Jose, including a dozen FBI personnel, participated in a series of stings last Friday, organized by local police and sheriff's personnel at motels in Santa Rosa, Petaluma and Rohnert Park, authorities said. The effort, planned over six weeks, was driven in part by a desire to curb what authorities say is a burgeoning trade in sex around the area since the opening last fall of the Graton Resort and Casino in Rohnert Park, authorities said.
There are no specific data to prove a linkage between the casino and a rise in activity, but local authorities say they and their counterparts in the Bay Area, as well as members of the FBI, have seen increasing references in online advertising suggesting prostitutes are coming to the area to take advantage of heavy casino traffic. Human intelligence gathered locally and in the Bay Area similarly supports the trend, police said. Terry Anderson said.
They're not responsible for people's actions. Undercover investigators have turned for enforcement to the same online websites increasingly used by participants in the sex trade to advertise and arrange dates. Last week's stings included participation by a half-dozen social agencies and nonprofits who provided outreach and services to sex providers interested in getting out of prostitution.
