Sheriff’s Department Launches Human Trafficking Task Force as Region Prepares for 2028 Olympics

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has created a dedicated Human Trafficking Task Force to combat trafficking during the 2028 Olympic Games, as the region that includes Olympic venue city Pasadena braces for the arrival of millions of visitors.

Authorities estimate up to 15 million visitors will travel to the Los Angeles region for the Olympics, Telemundo 52 reported. Pasadena will host Olympic soccer semifinals and finals at the Rose Bowl Stadium and Olympic diving at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center when the Games open on July 14, 2028.

“Human trafficking is something we see every day in our communities and our agencies,” Lt. Maricela Castillo of the Sheriff’s Department told Telemundo 52 report. With the expected influx of visitors, law enforcement officials told the station they anticipate increased demand for prostitution and other services tied to trafficking. “For traffickers, it’s an opportunity to make a lot of money from their victims,” an LASD agent said. “In an event this big, with this many people, they think there’s more business.”

The new task force is part of the broader LA Regional Human Trafficking Task Force, jointly led by the Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles?based nonprofit Saving Innocence, with federal partners including Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The regional task force is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Victims of Crime.

Saving Innocence, which has served more than 1,800 clients and identified over 1,300 confirmed trafficking victims in Los Angeles County, said in public filings that it is developing an anti?human trafficking victim services response specifically for upcoming LA County sporting events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympics.

The task force announcement follows Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, a statewide crackdown that resulted in more than 611 arrests and 170 victims rescued — including 14 juveniles — during a single week in late January. Sheriff Robert Luna said at a Feb. 3 news conference that 12 adults and five children were rescued in Los Angeles County. Statewide, 74 suspected sex traffickers and 328 sex buyers were arrested, he said. More than 80 law enforcement agencies participated in the weeklong operation, which ran from Jan. 25 to 31.

“People who are buying sex, these are young victims,” Luna said. “Thirteen?, 14? and 15?year?old little girls, little boys. It is absolutely sickening.”

Luna said the investigation began with a single citizen complaint about a house in the LA County community of Walnut, leading to months of surveillance and the discovery of multiple residential brothels.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman called traffickers “modern?day slave masters,” according to a statement released by the DA’s office. LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said victims had been transported from Chicago, Oklahoma, Missouri, tribal lands and communities within California.

Federal officials have also focused on the issue. On Dec. 17, 2025, the House Committee on Homeland Security held a hearing titled “A Scourge Against Humanity: Addressing Human Trafficking at Mass Gatherings,” examining trafficking risks tied to upcoming events including the 2028 Olympics. Congress allocated $1 billion for Olympics security in legislation signed into law in 2025.

Pasadena’s Olympic venues place the city within those security preparations. The Rose Bowl Stadium will host the soccer gold medal matches, marking the third time the stadium has been used for Olympic competition — following track cycling in 1932 and soccer in 1984. The Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, built with funds left over from the 1984 Games, will host 11 days of diving competition beginning July 16, 2028.

Castillo told Telemundo 52 that law enforcement agencies plan to deploy undercover officers at Olympic venues and have begun training workers at nearby businesses to recognize signs of trafficking. “We are offering training so that these businesses know what to do if they suspect a case of human trafficking is occurring,” she said.

The Sheriff’s Department’s emergency operations office has been coordinating with federal, state and local agencies for two years in preparation for the Games, according to the Telemundo 52 report.

Anyone with information about suspected human trafficking can contact Saving Innocence at 1-888-616-HEAL, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security tip line at (866) 347-2423, or LA Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. The DA’s office said it would pursue felony charges where applicable against sex buyers arrested in the January operation — not just misdemeanor solicitation charges. Luna said the crackdown began because one resident spoke up.