A San Francisco man is facing 27 felony counts of human trafficking and pimping of a minor following a months-long investigation by local and federal law enforcement. District Attorney George Gaston announced the arrest of 19-year-old Kriz Mike Nunez in a news conference Thursday.
The investigation began in February when an undercover officer responded to an online ad for a 17-year-old girl he ended up meeting at a San Francisco hotel. She was safely rescued and officials identified Nunez as a suspect. They served search warrants that turned up drugs, cell phones, cash, and a handgun and Nunez was taken into custody.
Gascon says human trafficking cases are on the rise in the city, but adds that the department lacks the funds to fight the crimes. He is asking the Board of Supervisors for one-million dollars to fight human trafficking in the city. More than 500 cases were prosecuted in 2015 and Gascon says San Francisco is on par with New York in terms of the high rate of arrests and prosecutions.
The ad in the Nunez case had been posted on Backpage.com, which was shut down by federal agents in April.