Man arrested after SLO County investigators contact human trafficking victim
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. - A Modesto man was arrested in August after investigators conducted an operation to rescue a potential human trafficking victim in April.
On April 8, 2020, detectives with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Counter Human Trafficking Team located and worked to save a female victim who was believed to be pregnant, commercially sexually exploited and controlled by a trafficker.
After conducting an undercover prostitution sting, investigators successfully contacted the 31-year-old woman who was found with a man identified as 33-year-old Anthony Craig Richardson Gaines of Modesto.
Deputies said because they needed more information, Gaines and the trafficking victim were released on the state's zero bail rule.
After further investigation, detectives were able to secure an arrest warrant for Gaines.
On August 18, SLO County deputies, with assistance from the Modesto Police Department Investigations Division and the nonprofit DeliverFund, located Gaines in Modesto and arrested him for human trafficking, pimping and a prison prior enhancement.
Gaines was extradited out of Modesto and booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail.
The SLO County Sheriff’s Counter Human Trafficking Team has been in operation since January of 2020 and focuses on proactively targeting traffickers who sexually exploit victims, sex purchasers who drive demand and providing resources to the victims of exploitation. The team said it targets victims of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
