On Friday, June 25, 2021, members of the La Quinta Special Enforcement Team conducted follow-up investigation regarding a female arrested on June 22, 2021 during a Demand Reduction Sex Trafficking Operation in the city of La Quinta. The female identified herself with an identification card that was later confirmed to be stolen; the female’s identity was determined to be Wendy Ruiz Lopez, 37 of Desert Hot Springs.

On Wednesday, June 30, 2021, La Quinta Special Enforcement Team members with the assistance of the Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (RCAHT) contacted Lopez and negotiated agreed upon acts of prostitution in exchange for money via an escort advertisement that was posted online in the area. Lopez was arrested on an additional misdemeanor prostitution charge and possession of controlled substances.

Lopez was also arrested for possession of stolen property (identification card), identity theft, and providing a false name related to her arrest on June 22, 2021. Lopez was booked on all charges at the county jail in Indio.

The La Quinta Special Enforcement Team is asking anyone with additional information to contact La Quinta SET Deputy Margarita Lopez at (760) 863-8990 or call anonymously at (760) 341-STOP (7867) and reference incident # LA211730057 and/or C211810022.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

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On Wednesday, April 14, 2021, at 4:00 PM, the Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (RCAHT) with the assistance of the Desert Hot Springs Police Department served a search warrant at the 64-000 block of Mission Lakes Blvd., Desert Hot Springs regarding a sex trafficking investigation.

During the service of the search warrant, Yanying He, 47 of Beaumont, was arrested for maintaining a brothel and solicitation of prostitution. Yanying He was transported to the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio. During this investigation, no victims of sex trafficking were identified.

Prostitution is not a “victimless” crime. Those victimized by commercial sexual exploitation frequently have long histories of emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse or trauma in their backgrounds. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates 1 in 6 endangered runaways reported are likely victims of sex trafficking. Sex trafficking victims are often subjected not only to severe forms of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of their trafficker but are also frequently physically and sexually assaulted by those that solicit them for prostitution.

The Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force seeks to disrupt and dismantle sex trafficking rings operating within Riverside County and will aggressively identify, pursue, and apprehend those who seek to exploit those who are most vulnerable. Through proactive enforcement operations, RCAHT works to reduce future demand for sex trafficking by identifying and arresting sex buyers.

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 # R21 077 0006.

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.

The post Maintaining a Brothel and Solicitation of Prostitution Arrest appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.