
Case Study: Things Aren’t Always What They Seem
Jan 21
3 min read
By Megan King, Vice Detective and Corporal at the Vacaville Police Department
A Routine Stop with Unexpected Complexity
On a sunny summer afternoon, Vacaville patrol officers received an alert from dispatch that a stolen vehicle had just entered our city. Patrol officers scoured the area looking for the stolen car and located it on one of our city streets near the freeway and initiated a traffic stop. The driver, a teenage girl under 18, complied with commands and exited the vehicle. Alone and visibly distressed, she explained that she had no family to call for help. Her mother had recently passed away, and her father was described as a “deadbeat”. Listed as a runaway from a nearby city, she initially revealed little about her situation. WIth no alternatives, she was taken to juvenile hall.

Uncovering the Truth
Suspecting something more was happening, officers collaborated with health professionals at juvenile hall to ask her follow-up questions. She eventually disclosed she had stolen the vehicle from a man who was abusing her in a nearby city. She was tired of being abused by him and had devised a plan to pretend to retrieve her hairbrush from his car but instead she got in his car and fled. She then proceeded to tell the patrol officer she would be willing to share her story, but she was only going to tell it once and that they better figure out who she was going to tell it to.
In my role, I train patrol officers on how to identify and triage a human trafficking case. I ask them to call a Vice Detective immediately so we can be involved early in the case. These cases are very challenging, in-depth and require days, weeks and sometimes months of follow-up. The patrol officer in this case called me immediately and let me know what happened.
I ask patrol officers to share detailed information about potential human trafficking victims including nicknames, phone numbers, social media and a photo of them. This protocol ensures I can take that information and search SPOTLIGHT for any information that might help in the investigation.
For this case, the patrol officer provided me with all the information she had collected on the young girl and a photo of her. I turned to SPOTLIGHT, as I always do, and immediately located commercial sex advertisements for the child posted throughout the Bay Area and our own county.
The Victim’s Story
When I met her at our department, she bravely recounted her harrowing story. After her mother’s death, she felt alone and vulnerable. Not knowing what to do or where to go, she ran away and was sleeping in an abandoned car in a large city in the Bay Area of California. Cold and hungry, she accepted help from a man who offered her a warm place to stay and food to eat. A moment of desperation to meet her basic needs led her to be victimized by a predator lying in wait. She woke up the next morning in the man’s apartment, realizing her mistake.
He coerced her to pose for pictures in the bedroom of his apartment to create commercial sex advertisements of her. She had never seen her own ads, but she was able to describe the bedroom and photos in detail, which perfectly matched the photos I was able to find through SPOTLIGHT.
Building the Case
With the victim’s statements and corroborating evidence from SPOTLIGHT, I obtained a warrant for the trafficker’s arrest and a search warrant for his apartment. During the search, I found the bedroom and items exactly as the girl had described. Further investigation of the trafficker’s cell phone revealed additional incriminating evidence, including texts, photos, and contact information linked to commercial sex ads. Using SPOTLIGHT, I identified more victims he had trafficked.
Impact of SPOTLIGHT
This is one of many stories I could tell about how SPOTLIGHT has helped me investigate a human trafficking case. Without SPOTLIGHT I would not be able to be nearly as effective at my job. It truly makes a difference in helping us save lives and bring justice to the ones who need it.
If you think you know someone who is a victim of human trafficking, reach out to your local police or call the National Human Trafficking Hotline (888-373-7888).
If you are inspired by the work of the Vacaville Police Department and want to keep supporting access to Spotlight for their investigations, consider a donation to Spotlight to cover a license or two.