Sex-trafficking operation leads to two suspects
Investigators in Marin County detained two suspects in San Rafael as part of a nationwide crackdown on child sex trafficking.
The enforcement effort, dubbed “Operation Cross Country,” included a Bay Area component led by the FBI's San Francisco Office and local agencies. In Marin, the agencies included the San Rafael Police Department, the Marin County Sheriff's Office, the Novato Police Department, the Central Marin Police Authority and Marin County District Attorney's Office.
To identify potential offenders, investigators placed advertisements online purporting to offer minors for paid sex. Investigators also responded to similar ads placed by other sources.
Authorities arrested Simeon Ramirez-Lopez, 25, of San Rafael after he arranged to have sex with someone he thought would be a 15-year-old child, said San Rafael police Sgt. Chris Duncan. Ramirez-Lopez was booked into the Marin County Jail.
Investigators also detained Fredy Paxtor, 48, of Greenbrae after he arranged to meet an adult for paid sex, Duncan said. Paxtor was released with a citation pending a review by prosecutors.
“One female from the Vacaville area believed to be a minor, responded to an arranged location with the intent to perform sexual acts for payment,” Duncan wrote in a statement. “Once at the location, investigators determined that the woman was an adult and not working against her will. She was provided resources and released.”
The Marin County District Attorney's Office charged Ramirez-Lopez last week with a felony count of arranging to meet a minor to engage in lewd and lascivious behavior. The crime allegedly occurred on July 27.
Ramirez-Lopez has pleaded not guilty.
“We do not condone the practice of engaging in sexual activities for money,” said Ramirez-Lopez's public defender, Monica Rudden. “We are concerned that while our client sought the services of an adult, it was law enforcement that suggested a minor.”
Ramirez-Lopez told law enforcement “no” to that several times, Rudden said.
In Paxtor's case, the prosecution office is still waiting for investigative reports and had filed no charges as of Thursday, a spokesperson said.
Paxtor, reached by telephone, declined to comment on the allegations.
Authorities conducted the crackdown in July and announced the results on Wednesday. In the Bay Area, investigators arrested nine suspects, rescued three adolescent victims, contacted 17 adult victims and seized three guns, according to the FBI.
Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Greg Boller said the operation took a “victim-centric” approach to offer services to victims immediately after they were brought in. He said two aides waited 10 hours while Oakland police conducted an operation so that they could speak with five human trafficking victims.
“It had an impact, and there was a voice for them that may not have existed prior, someone who could speak for them in the future, if the cases proceeded to court, if justice was able to be served,” Boller said. “Our goal is to stop predatory behavior. Pimps are predators.”
The FBI has been running “Operation Cross Country” for 13 years with help from the nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The agency announced this week that it had arrested or identified “more than five dozen suspected human traffickers and 126 individuals accused of child sexual exploitation and trafficking offenses” across the country last month.
Investigators also found 59 juvenile victims and another 59 children who had been reported missing, the FBI said.