Human trafficking is still a very prevalent issue. (Evan Courtney/Creative Commons)

Although the police ensured that no children were at risk during the raid and arrest, the brothel’s proximity to Sunnymead Elementary has parents concerned for their children's safety, according to The Press Enterprise.

Margarito Valdez Gomez, 46, was arrested on suspicion of operating the prostitution ring and has since posted a $25,000 bail. Three of his assumed colleagues were also arrested in relation to the operation, police say.  

With a human trafficking investigation on its way, this cases raises serious questions about how relevant sex trafficking really is in our communities and every day lives. Is it something fueled by popular culture and the media or a real issue that seems to continuously be swept under the rug?

With increasing numbers of prostitution rings being discovered, it is time to start trying to understand an issue that some have tried to ignore. 

An estimated 30 million people around the world have experienced the horror of human trafficking—an issue that has destroyed the meaning of what it means to be “safe” in a free world. At least 15,000 women and children alone are trafficked into the United States annually where they are forced into sex work or hard labor. 

SEE ALSO: Sex Trafficking Is No Foreign Matter

Those not familiar with the seriousness of modern day sex slavery sometimes overlook the forcible nature of trafficking.

Popular media fuels assumptions that these are consensual interactions with women flaunting their sexual desire alongside pimps in outlandish suits with expensive cars. This image is a far cry from what the FBI believes is “the fastest-growing business of organized crime and third-largest criminal enterprise in the world.”

The continued subjugation of women and children by hedonistic values and financial greed, sex trafficking should force people to question the role of the United States as the original gatekeeper of freedom and democracy.  

In an international context, the United States is viewed as a model of human and civil rights, but when the destruction of lives continues to occur in our own backyard without significant repercussions, how can we criticize neighboring countries for allowing the same crimes to occur?

Underage sex trafficking is its own form of modern day slavery—something that the U.S. abolished almost 150 years ago—so why do the shackles of slavery remain and even more alarming, why are these shackles expanding throughout the country?

SEE ALSO: USC Students Rally Against Sex Trafficking

Modern day sex slavery has not gone unnoticed by all, however. The Polaris Project, an organization dedicated to combatting human trafficking and slavery, has been spearheading efforts to end this human exploitation.

According to an Aug. 2013 report, 39 states passed stricter anti-trafficking laws. Still, there needs to be even more attention paid to the victims of trafficking as they attempt to rebuild their lives outside the walls of a brothel. 

“We’ve witnessed a historic turning point now that all 50 states have passed laws criminalizing human trafficking. However, criminals are trafficking women, men and children from coast to coast at horrendous rates,” CEO of the Polaris Project Bradley Myles said. “In every state, we need to give prosecutors and law enforcement the right tools to stop traffickers, and state agencies must have the ability to protect survivors and help them reclaim their freedom.” 

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Arizona, Colorado, Utah and other states near Nevada, a top 10 location for trafficking n the U.S., ranked at a very low third tier of states making an effort to combat this slavery. According to the Polaris Project, states listed in this third tier have “made nominal efforts to pass laws to combat human trafficking, and should take major steps to improve and implement its laws.”

Cindy McCain, a philanthropist and wife of former presidential candidate John McCain, publicly voiced her concern for the state of human trafficking across the globe. According to the Huffington Post, McCain hopes to draft legislation for stricter anti-trafficking laws in Arizona prior to the state holding the 2015 Super Bowl, an event that is notorious for bringing a high number of prostitutes to the area. 

The efforts made by many states in the U.S. are still failing to sufficiently impact the world of underage sex trafficking. Hundreds of nonprofit organization are fighting for the survival of victims affected by trafficking, and even more activists are trying to educate people about the harmful impact of trafficking on communities.

Yet, a deficient in funding and man power to control a decisively powerful industry prevent major gains from being made. Some believe that the lack of regulatory action by some states may stem from naive attitudes regarding contemporary legislation of such an archaic issue. 

According to The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “Some countries, including a few very large ones, do not even inform us about the problem in their midst. Either they are too disorganized to collect information or are unwilling to share it, perhaps out of embarrassment.”

Human trafficking doesn’t just stem from the perpetrators committing these crimes— a study by DePaul University reveals federal institutions that do not focus their efforts on reforming and prosecuting violators have also fueled the fire of modern day slavery. 

SEE ALSO: Secret Service Prostitution Scandal: Obama Wants Investigation

“60 percent of the sample [ex-pimps] said they paid law enforcement in order to survive in the [trafficking] business,” the study claims. One ex-pimp interviewed for the study admits, “We paid who we had to so we could run our business. Police, detectives an alderman or two.” 

Human trafficking goes beyond exploiting women and children; it speaks volumes about our current values as a nation and reveals the current loopholes in our governmental system. 

It seems as if legislators at the state level have begun taking the issue of modern day slavery much more seriously recently, and we can only hope that the effort to abolish trafficking will continue to gain more traction and continue to expand. 

Reach Staff Reporter McKenna Aiello here, and follow her on Twitter @McKennaAiello.