Ten arrested in San Joaquin County human trafficking operation

STOCKTON — Ten people have been arrested in connection with a human trafficking operation that led investigators to rural Stockton and the rescue of a girl and a woman before they were forced to become prostitutes, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office reported.

The Sheriff’s Office along with the county District Attorney’s Office led the collaborative, proactive investigation that included Stockton’s Women’s Center-Youth & Family Services, Manteca Police Department, California Highway Patrol and an area business owner whose identity has not been released.

“Sex trafficking is extremely prevalent here in the Valley, and the Sheriff ’s Office as well as the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office have taken a very tough stance to combat and eradicate child trafficking in San Joaquin County,” said Deputy Dave Konecny, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.

The collaborative investigation culminated Friday with the arrests of 10 people on various charges, including four considered high profile, according to Konecny:

• Daqueri Bushu, 34, on suspicion of contacting and arranging to meet a minor 14 years or younger for the intent to commit a sex offense.

• Eric Hernandez, 18, on suspicion of human trafficking of a minor, pimping and pandering.

• Brittany Knapp, 27, on suspicion of supervising prostitution.

• Richard Warden, 72, on suspicion of contacting and arranging to meet a minor 14 years or younger for the intent to commit a sex offense.

Among the other six arrested on related charges, one had a $500,000 warrant for his arrest, according to Konecny. Their identities were not available.

Investigators made contact with more than 125 people through an online advertisement as part of the operation, according to the Sheriff ’s Office.

The operation also successfully rescued a woman and a 17-year-old girl from being trafficked on the first day they were forced to perform sex through force, fear or coercion, according to the report. No further details of the operation were released.

Jennifer Jones, the recently appointed CEO of the Women’s Center, said Monday the latest arrests were part of the second or third sting operation that has involved the nonprofit agency. This operation was the first time they were actively involved in rescuing someone.

“We have sent out two commercially sexually exploited youth advocates to these operations to meet with the young girls or women who have been associated with these criminal activities hoping to find victims of human trafficking. In this case, we were part of two rescues,” Jones said.

The advocates, Jones said, act in a support role to the victims as they are being interviewed by law enforcement. It is hoped that the victims will speak about their traffickers, leading to evidence that can be used to make an arrest.

“They are there unconditionally for the victim to keep them safe and provide services to ensure they they do not go back to their traffickers,” Jones said. In many cases, especially among the youngest girls, they do not even realize they are the victims of a serious crime.

“I think that we have barely scratched the surface here in San Joaquin County. Our efforts have truly ramped up in the past year due in part to the collaboration of the Human Trafficking Task Force that allows many groups to work together on these issues. We know there are a lot of victims still out there that we have yet to uncover,” she said.

Jones noted that it can be quite challenging to find victims, especially the youngest ones who may be runaways or foster children who have left the system.

“There are definitely a lot of vulnerable girls where the trafficker claims to meet their needs,” Jones said. “We are going to continue to work with our partners to really make a dent in this issue."