LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, as part of her ongoing efforts to eradicate human trafficking along South Figueroa Street, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto was joined by Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson (D-Carson) to urge the California State Assembly Committee on Public Safety to pass AB 2419. Assemblymember Gipson introduced this bill to expand the parameters for issuing search warrants in cases involving child prostitution to include evidence related to communications that facilitate the solicitation of minors.
Currently, state law dictates that a search warrant may be issued when the items to be seized were used as a means to commit a felony; however, the solicitation of a minor for prostitution is a misdemeanor and, therefore, it is not a permissible ground to issue a warrant. AB 2419 will fix this loophole and allow for communications regarding the possible trafficking or solicitation of a minor to be listed as a ground to obtain a search warrant.
“Eradicating sex trafficking along the Figueroa corridor in South LA is a priority of mine because the activity - which can involve minors - can be violent and devastating,” said Hydee Feldstein Soto. “AB 2419 will give our law enforcement partners a crucial tool which will make it easier to hold predators accountable while protecting children from sexual exploitation. I urge the Public Safety Committee to pass this bill, and am grateful to Assemblymember Mike Gipson for his partnership and dedication to strengthening our laws, especially those that will protect minors.”
“Search warrants are an essential tool for reducing crime and ensuring the safety of our communities, especially the ones I represent,” said Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson (D-Carson). “Adding this tool to help locate possible trafficking or solicitation of a minor will create an avenue toward combating the entire ring of human trafficking. AB 2419 is an essential step forward for protecting the health and safety of the children of California.”
The California State Assembly Committee on Public Safety will hold a hearing on this bill on April 2, 2024.
Since 2023, Feldstein Soto has been helping to lead a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional trafficking task force focused on the Figueroa corridor in South LA with Mayor Karen Bass, Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, the LAPD, the FBI, the US Attorney’s Office, and the Department of Homeland Security. This stretch of South Figueroa Street is an epicenter of trafficking and criminal activity.
The mission of the task force is to locate and assist trafficking victims, shut down illegal activity, identify, arrest and convict pimps and traffickers, and disrupt buyers of sex services from minors and trafficking victims. It is not aimed at prosecuting commercial sex workers.
Last week, Feldstein Soto announced that her office had secured a guilty verdict against a 49 year-old male defendant charged with three violations of the California Penal Code, including solicitation of prostitution from a minor. He was found guilty on all counts and is required to register as a sex offender. Sentencing will take place next month. In September, Feldstein Soto announced that her office filed a lawsuit to permanently enjoin the prostitution-related and violent activity at one of the motels on South Figueroa, under California’s Red Light Abatement Law, the Public Nuisance Law, and the Unfair Competition Law.
Link to AB 2419: https://trackbill.com/bill/california-assembly-bill-2419-search-warrants-child-prostitution/2517178/
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Hydee Feldstein Soto is the 43rd Los Angeles City Attorney, elected in November 2022 and sworn into office in December 2022. Her team of nearly 1,000 legal professionals, including 500+ attorneys, carries out legal work for the City of Los Angeles at her direction and under her supervision. She is the first female City Attorney in L.A. history.