As a part Operation Cross Country, the San Rafael Police Department, the Marin County Sheriff's Office, the Central Marin Police Authority and the Novato Police Department, targeted men who were willing to pay juveniles for sex.  In 2016, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children estimated that 1 in 6 endangered runaways reported to them were likely sex trafficking victims.

Operation Cross Country is part of the FBI’s Innocence Lost National Initiative, which began in 2003. Since its creation, the program has resulted in the identification and recovery of more than 6,000 children from child sex trafficking, and prosecutors have obtained 30 life sentences in cases against traffickers and their associates.

The focus of the operation was two-fold.  One operation was to identify and arrest men who were willing to pay to have sex with a minor under 14 years of age.  During the operation, men responded to advertisements on the Internet.  Through text and phone conversations, the men requested to engage in sex acts with a minor in exchange for money.  When they arrived at the specified location, they were taken into custody without incident.

As a result of the first operation, five men were arrested and booked into Marin County jail for 288.3(a) PC, communicating with a minor with the intent to perform specific sex acts.  The following were arrested and booked:

• Junjie Qiu, a 25-year-old male from El Sobrante.
• Jorge Chiti Velasquez, a 23-year-old male from San Rafael.
• Victor Arnoldo Cutz Aguilar, a 35-year-old male from San Rafael.
• Eric Eisenstein, a 30-year-old male from Moorpark.
• Miguel Montero Flores, a 38-year-old male from Stockton. 

The second operation was focused on locating adult or juvenile victims of Human Trafficking.  One female from the Fresno area was located at a local hotel.  She accepted services and was given emergency shelter through the Center for Domestic Peace.

The San Rafael Police Department would like to remind people that Human Trafficking does exist in Marin.  If you know someone who is or may be a victim, please contact your local law enforcement agency.  To learn more, visit www.mcceht.org.