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San Diego Slave Trade
Updated: 7:02 p.m. PDT April 25, 2002
SAN DIEGO -- San Diego is at the center of an illicit slave trade that spans the globe, according to a Unit10 report.
Each year, thousands of women, children, and some men are trafficked across the U.S.-Mexico border and forced into labor situations they never agreed to, according to the report.
The focus of the Unit10 Investigation happens to concentrate on the migrant population, but it's an issue in many other countries -- from Central America to Russia and China.
The issue affects San Diego because the border is so close, Unit10 reported, and now, San Diego and Mexico officials are working to form a safety net to catch predators and save victims.
Sophia came to the United States from Mexico for the promise of a better life. That promise came from a man who eventually fathered a child with Sophia, then forced her into prostitution -- using threats against her child to keep her from running away, she said.
Marisa Ugarte's life mission is to put an end to stories like Sophia's. She works to rescue the thousands of women and children who are trafficked across borders each year for slave labor or prostitution.
Recently, Unit10 joined Ugarte and San Diego County Sheriff's Detective Rick Castro through the brush near some Vista strawberry fields to look for slave trade predators.
Pointing to a hill, Castro recalled discovering what he called a "sex camp."
"That area up there is where I was standing ... all the girls would be huddled up here in this area and the customers would be ... in line," Castro said.
The area was one of perhaps a dozen sex camps throughout the county, where mostly migrant men come to meet females -- some as young as 12 years old -- to have sex, Unit10 reported.
One girl might have sex with 10 men in an hour, making about $20 each time, according to Castro. Most of the money goes to the pimp.
"They service anywhere from 200 to 300 men, starting at about 6:30 to 7 in the morning, and done by 2:30 p.m.," Castro said.
Castro told Unit10 that he now keeps an eye on a handful of North County homes. In one recent raid Castro said authorities found 16 girls and 23 "Johns."
The girls who he finds aren't always smuggled in, Castro said. Some are local teenagers, estranged from their parents, or who see easy money in prostitution.
Even if a raid is successful, however, and victims are rescued, Castro said that trust is hard to establish, especially if the federal government gets involved.
"You're dealing with people that are afraid of the U.S. government, generally," he said.
But the federal officials are the ones who have the resources to crack down on international human trafficking, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Tenorio.
"We know that about 50,000 women and children are trafficked to the U.S. each year," he said.
In San Diego, local, federal and Mexican agencies are now forming the "Safety Corridor" to provide a network of services for victims of human trafficking, Unit10 reported.
"There's a lot of trauma that has to be dealt with -- physical, as well as emotional issues," Tenorio said.
One thing authorities try to teach victims is that legal status is not an issue. If you've been victimized in one of these ways in the United States, you are eligible for protection, and eventually citizenship, according to Unit10.