Nathan Hochman, Los Angeles County District Attorney, highlighted the severity of human trafficking in the city during an exclusive interview with The Korea Daily(www.koreadailyus.com) on February 7. He emphasized that not only Asian individuals, including Koreans, but also men could fall victim to this crime.
“Even today, prostitutes can be seen at night near Charles Kim Elementary School on Western Avenue in Koreatown,” he said. “If people understood how these individuals—someone’s child or sibling—become victims of human trafficking, the Korean community would be shocked.”
Speaking from the LA Downtown District Attorney’s Office, Hochman stated, “It is difficult to disclose specific victim information, but most victims are women, including teenage girls, while some men are forced into labor.”
Among the victims are teenagers as young as 13 to 17 years old, who should be under their parents’ protection but instead are being subjected to sexual slavery on the streets. This was one of the key findings from a special task force launched late last year, a joint effort by state and county law enforcement agencies.
Geographically, Figueroa Street and Sepulveda Corridor in LA have been identified as hotspots for organized human trafficking operations involving prostitution.
Hochman reported that over 100 suspects have been arrested in recent months, and hundreds of victims have been identified. However, he acknowledged that sex traffickers continually relocate their operations to evade law enforcement, operating both day and night.
“The internet serves as a source of information, but in the realm of human trafficking, it is also a ‘source of evil,'” Hochman stated. “Victims, lured by drugs and money at a young age, often find themselves on a path from which they can never return.”
In LA, traffickers frequently pose as modeling agencies or lure teenagers through promises of exclusive parties and celebrity encounters.
Hochman acknowledged that sex trafficking is prevalent within the Korean community and reaffirmed his commitment to eradicating human trafficking and prostitution networks.
“Human traffickers are constantly expanding and regenerating their organizations, producing countless victims,” he stated. “The key to our investigations is separating victims from criminals, but if this process is delayed, victims may sometimes lose their lives.”
One of the major obstacles to effective crackdowns, Hochman noted, is California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Safe Streets Act (SB 357), enacted in 2022, which effectively prohibits the regulation of street prostitution.
However, Hochman emphasized that his office is now leveraging Proposition 36, which allows habitual offenders to be prosecuted as felons, to strengthen investigations and crack down on human trafficking and prostitution networks.
Hochman urged Korean parents to always monitor their children’s surroundings to prevent them from being drawn into dangerous situations.
“Even small incidents should be reported immediately. Only through prompt investigations can we prevent crime before it happens,” he advised.
Meanwhile, the LA County District Attorney’s Office has been actively publishing information on human trafficking crimes and arrest updates via its official website (da.lacounty.gov) to keep the public informed.
BY BRIAN CHOI [ichoi@koreadaily.com]
