Ventura County Human Trafficking Task Force shuts down five illicit massage businesses and connects 52 workers to victim resources in January - KEYT

[By Andrew Gillies]

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – In January 2025, the Ventura County Human Trafficking Task Force conducted anti-human trafficking operations across the county resulting in the closure of five illicit massage businesses for code violations and contact with 52 potential victims working at those locations.

The Ventura County Human Trafficking Task Force coordinated their county-specific actions with a statewide enforcement sweep known as Operation Reclaim and Rebuild stated a press release Tuesday from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

During Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, the Ventura County Human Trafficking Task Force partnered with code compliance officers, local and federal law enforcement agencies, and victim advocates to perform compliance checks at 26 locations identified as potential illicit massage businesses across the county detailed the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

The compliance checks resulted in the closure of five of those locations for multiple code violations and compliance officers issued multiple administrative citations shared the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

The operation also successfully connected 52 potential victims working at those illicit massage businesses to victim advocacy resources added the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

On Jan. 30, the Ventura County Human Trafficking Task Force partnered with the Ventura Police Department in a motel operation where one trafficker with an outstanding felony warrant in Monterey County and one "John" attempting to pay for a commercial sex act were both arrested shared the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

The trafficker had a warrant related to the sex trafficking of a minor and they currently are at the Ventura County Pre-Trail Detention Facility awaiting extradition back to Monterey County stated the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

The county-based task force is comprised on two full-time Sheriff's deputies, representative detectives from each law enforcement agency in Ventura County, and several victim service providers explained the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

Detectives encourage anyone who believe that they, or someone they know, is a victim of human trafficking to contact 211 or local law enforcement to be connected to support services.