San Luis Obispo County makes nine human trafficking arrests during Operation Reclaim and Rebuild
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. -- Nine individuals were arrested during the San Luis Obispo County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force's participation in the annual Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, the SLO District Attorney's Office announced on Tuesday.
The nine individuals were arrested between Feb. 6 and Feb. 12, 2022, when the operation took place, according to District Attorney Dan Dow.
Three people were arrested for contacting a 13-year-old child with the intent to commit a sexual offense: William Thomas Feland, 65, Luis H. Gonzalez, 44, and Robert M. Walls, Jr., 44.
The three are due to be arraigned in the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court on March 24, Dow said.
Four people were arrested for solicitation of prostitution: Joseph Ricardo Armas, 32, Alex Alejandro Lopez, 30, Neil James Miller, 35, abd James Darren Wormley, 46.
The four individuals are due to be arraigned on June 1, according to Dow.
Two people were arrested for pimping, and those cases are active, ongoing cases, Dow said.
"The demand for prostitution creates a lucrative cash market that traffickers fill with victims – many who are children – even in our beautiful community," he continued.
"Our local anti-human trafficking enforcement operations are designed to reduce the demand for commercial sex that leads to exploitation of minors and adults every day in our community. A warning to those thinking about purchasing sex: please stop and consider that one million kids are trafficked for sex each year and you are making it more widespread."
The SLO County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force was formally established by Dow shortly after his election in 2014.
It is aimed at disrupting networks of human trafficking for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation occurring on the Central Coast, reducing the demand for trafficking and exploitation of minors, and identifying and assisting survivors, Dow said.
The task force has participated in Operation Reclaim and Rebuild – led by the Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force – for four years.
The statewide operation included more than 80 participating federal, state, law enforcement agencies, and task forces focused on combatting human trafficking in southern California, Dow said.
