Location: Tulare County

Incident Date: August 17, 2019

City: Tulare County

Posted by: Media Relations

One Rescued, Two Arrested During Human Trafficking Sting

Detectives with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office Human Trafficking Unit, in collaboration with investigators from the Tulare County DA’s Office, Visalia PD, and the Tulare County Human Trafficking Task Force, conducted two undercover operations Saturday night, August 17, 2019. Detectives set up fake advertisements on known prostitution sites and searched the web for human trafficking victims. 

44-year-old Josafat Gutierrez of Hanford was arrested for soliciting an undercover officer. 35-year Kenneth Bryson of Elk Grove was arrested for pimping and is being investigated for human trafficking.

Detectives rescued an 18-year-old woman from Northern California, whom they believe to be a human trafficking victim. 

Anyone with information on human trafficking is encouraged to contact the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at (559) 733-6218. Anonymous information may be reported by calling or texting (559) 725-4194 or through email at tcso@tipnow.com. The National Human Trafficking Hotline is (888) 373-7888.