Sex trafficking victim rescued when police raid COVID ‘superspreader party,’ CA cops say

More than 150 people were arrested and an alleged sex trafficking victim was rescued during a police raid on a “superspreader” party in Palmdale, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said during a news conference Tuesday that the “massive underground party” occurred at a vacant house in Palmdale on Saturday, and more than 150 people were arrested: 116 adults and 35 minors. Police also rescued an underage girl believed to be a sex trafficking victim.

Six firearms were recovered that night and the next morning, Villanueva said.

Villanueva also asked politicians to consider opening restaurants and instead focus on superspreader events.

“We will continue to apply common sense to our enforcement actions and weigh the letter of the law with the spirit of the law. It is my firm belief that this approach is a more efficient and effective means to manage the spread of this potentially deadly virus,” Villanueva said.

Villanueva said there are around “half a dozen” superspreader events every weekend in Los Angeles County and the party organizers broke into the house and used a U-Haul to move their equipment inside.

“This is how brazen this operation was,” Villanueva said.

There is a stay-at-home order for many residents of California except for work, shopping or permitted errands. Many non-essential businesses are closed in Los Angeles County, which is in the purple tier on California’s COVID-19 map, meaning many businesses are closed and the risk level is considered “widespread.”

There are more than 15 million coronavirus cases and 287,000 deaths in the U.S. as of Dec. 9, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 20,000 people have died in California from COVID-19 so far.

This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Sex trafficking victim rescued when police raid COVID ‘superspreader party,’ CA cops say."