Human Trafficking Victim Texted 911 To Help Police Find Her: Officials

VENTURA COUNTY, CA — A teenage human trafficking victim was able to lead police to her location by texting 911, according to Ventura County authorities, who said a man was charged with forcible rape, luring and other crimes after the girl was trafficked from Mexico.

The sheriff’s communication center received a text asking for help around 3 a.m. May 9, authorities said, adding the 17-year-old did not know where she was, but she could identify landmarks and provide other information. Deputies used the information in real time to search the Casitas Springs area and found her after about 20 minutes of looking, according to authorities.

The girl had been trafficked to Ventura County from Mexico roughly two months earlier, and she provided deputies with information that led to the arrest of 31-year-old Gerardo Cruz of Veracruz, Mexico, authorities said. The teen was evaluated and transferred to Ventura County Child Family Services until she could be reunited with family, according to authorities.

Cruz was charged with human trafficking, forcible rape, lewd acts upon a child, luring and sexual penetration with force, authorities said. He remained in custody as of Thursday and his bail was set at $500,000, according to police.

“The ability to send a text message to an emergency call center is relatively new technology,” the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. “This incident also utilized integrated translation technology as the call taker only spoke English and the victim only spoke and wrote in Spanish. The call taker was able to quickly interpret and text back a response in English, which was quickly re-translated to Spanish for the victim.”

To report human trafficking, call local police or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477. For more information about human trafficking, visit www.polarisproject.org.