LONG BEACH, Calif. (KNX) — Two teens were rescued and two adults were arrested in a sex trafficking bust earlier this month in Long Beach, police said Thursday.
The arrests were made as part of a larger operation to deter sex trafficking in the state, according to authorities.
The first incident took place on Feb. 6 at a motel in the 6200 block of East Pacific Coast Highway, where officers conducted an undercover sting. Police found a 17-year-old minor who was being sex trafficked, police said.
The man suspected of sex trafficking the teen was arrested at the scene. He was identified by police as William Givens, a Long Beach resident.
Givens was charged with one count of human trafficking of a minor and his bail was set at $150,000, but he has since been released from jail on bond.
The second incident happened on Feb. 9 at a motel in the 2600 block of North Lakewood Boulevard, where police conducted another undercover sting.
Officers found a 17-year-old victim and arrested the man, identified as Ryan Culpepper of Los Angeles, for allegedly trafficking the teen.
Culpepper remains behind bars on $185,000 bail, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s inmate records.
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