Reporting Deputy: Sergeant Jose Tijerina
File # R220630004
Details:
On March 4, 2022, the Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (RCAHT) conducted a sex trafficking investigation that occurred in the cities of Palm Desert, Indio and Desert Hot Springs. During the investigation, seven victims were identified which were all minors. RCAHT members learned Dewayne Williams, a 32-year-old resident of Indio, was involved in human trafficking of a minor.
On April 21, 2022, the U.S Marshall Service Pacific South West Task Force arrested Williams at the San Ysidro crossing port in San Diego County for human trafficking of a minor, pandering of minor, lewd acts with a minor, inducing a minor to consume narcotics (Fentanyl). Williams was transported to the Central Jail in San Diego County.
RCAHT reminds parents/legal guardians to monitor their children’s online activity, social media/gaming platforms and who they are communicating with in the different online platforms.
Report Human Trafficking activity or tips to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline at (888) 373-7888
The Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force is asking anyone with additional information to contact RCAHT Task Force Investigator Damen Butvidas at (760) 836-1600 or call anonymously at (760) 341-STOP (7867) and reference incident # R22 063 0004.
The eastern Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force was formed in March 2020 to address crimes involving the exploitation of victims via force, fraud, or coercion in the eastern half of the Coachella Valley. These cases often involve the commercial sex trafficking of children, as well as incidents of forced labor, indentured servitude, debt bondage, or slavery. The RCAHT Task Force is a multidisciplinary task force that combines the investigative resources of both local and federal law enforcement. The RCAHT Task Force also provides victim services and education/outreach through partnerships with the non-profit groups Operation Safe House, Rebirth Homes, and Million Kids.
The law enforcement component of RCAHT is currently composed of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Riverside County Probation Department, along with part-time participation of the Hemet Police Department, Riverside Police Department, and Desert Hot Springs Police Department.
For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.
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