LOS ANGELES (AP) — The California attorney general has launched new anti-human trafficking teams to apprehend perpetrators and support survivors amid an alarming increase in labor and sexual exploitation statewide during the coronavirus pandemic.
Officials on Friday say the state’s lockdown exacerbated problems with human trafficking and made it much harder for victims to escape and find housing and other services.
Attorney General Rob Bonta’s two new anti-trafficking teams will be comprised of 13 special agents and two crime analysts. Actors and activists Mira Sorvino and Alyssa Milano joined Bonta in seeking $30 million in additional anti-trafficking funding in the state's final budget.
