9 arrested on suspicion of human trafficking in SLO County
Nine people were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking-related charges in San Luis Obispo County from Feb. 6-12, the San Luis Obispo District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
William Feland, 65; Luis Gonzalez, 44; and Robert Walls Jr., 44; were arrested on suspicion of contacting a 13-year-old with the intent to commit a sexual offense. They are scheduled to be arraigned in the San Luis Obispo Superior Court on March 24.
Joseph Armas, 32; Alex Lopez, 30; Neil Miller, 35; and James Wormley, 46; were arrested on suspicion of solicitation of prostitution and are scheduled to be arraigned on June 1.
Two more unnamed individuals were arrested on suspicion of pimping. The investigations for the two cases are ongoing, the release said.
The arrests were made during a statewide operation known as Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, an annual effort led by the Los Angeles Human Trafficking Task Force that focuses on combating human trafficking in Southern California.
“This operation by the Task Force was directly aimed at disrupting networks of human trafficking for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation occurring on the Central Coast, identifying and assisting survivors of trafficking, and reducing the demand for trafficking and exploitation of minors by identifying and prosecuting would-be purchasers,” the release said.
The San Luis Obispo County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force spearheaded the investigations that led to the arrests.
Many agencies assisted with the effort, including the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations and Special Victim’s Unit, California Highway Patrol’s Investigative Services Unit, and the FBI field office in Santa Maria.
