Around Claremont/ Application

It can be difficult to pinpoint where sex trafficking begins and what a small city like Claremont can do to stop it from happening here. Chief Vander Veen of the Claremont Police Department directed me to weekly newsletters where the police department uses their own form of “social media” to inform the public of anything happening in Claremont.

Upon talking with Chief Veen, she explained that regardless of how small or large the topic is, the department feels as though it is necessary to share with the public as much as they can. Eventually, I discovered a newsletter published in 2017 that showcased a report of a sex trafficking incident.

According to the City Manager’s Weekly Update for Claremont, on February 21, the Police Department received a 9-1-1 call from a 17 year-old female from the lobby of Motel 6. She reported that an adult male had been “pimping her out” and had physically assaulted her. Officers located the male attempting to leave the area and detained him. The investigation revealed that the male adult had been involved in the human trafficking of the 17 year-old, as well as a 15 year-old female who was found at the location. A female adult was also found at the location and it was determined that she was also involved in the human trafficking. The male suspect was on Post Release Community Supervision (PRCS) as a result of AB109. Both juvenile victims were reported as runaways. Claremont Police arrested Mario Stevens of Long Beach and Tracey Sims of Moreno Valley.

Throughout the rest of the research conducted, it was difficult to find topics that covered sex trafficking, because most other incidents were surrounded around sexual assault.