17-year-old girl rescued from sex trafficking after texting 911 asking for help

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office in California rescued a 17-year-old human trafficking victim after texting 911, authorities said.

On Thursday, May 9, at approximately 3:30 a.m., the sheriff’s office received a text message in Spanish from a victim requesting help. The message was then translated from Spanish to English, and the victim informed officers that he did not know where he was, the news release said.

Police said that although the victim did not know his exact location, he was able to identify landmarks and other things in his area, which helped the sheriff’s office track him down.

Police said that after several exchanges, officers were dispatched and located the victim within 20 minutes.

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The victim tells deputies he was smuggled out of Mexico

During the initial investigation, the victim disclosed that he had been contraband trafficked from Mexico to Ventura County, California two months ago. The victim also managed to identify the suspect as Gerardo Cruz from Veracruz, Mexico, the news release said.

“We don’t know the specific route she took, but we do know she got here from Mexico through illegal means,” Detective Chris Dyer told the Ventura County Star, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. “We’re still trying to figure out how she got here. “She went through a few different people and a few different places.”

After speaking with deputies, the victim was processed and transferred to Ventura County Children’s Services where they will help him reunite with his family.

Police said Cruz, 31, was quickly found and arrested.

The suspect faces multiple charges

Detectives from the Major Crimes Bureau’s sexual assault unit filed a number of charges against Cruz. On Monday, May 13, Cruz was arraigned in Ventura Superior Court for:

Human trafficking
Forced rape
Obscene behavior towards a child
Enticement
Forcible sexual penetration

Cruz is currently in custody and his bail is set at $500,000.