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East County News Service
May 5, 2016 (San Diego) -- Sergeyi Bazar, a 37-year-old Ukrainian national living in San Diego, was sentenced in federal court May 3rd to 17 years in custody for sex trafficking two adult women in late 2014. Bazar was found guilty after jury trial in November 2015 for two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and one count of coercion and enticement.
Both victims were foreign nationals living in the United States illegally after their visa had expired. Each woman testified at trial that they responded to an online ad on VKontakte (VK), a Russian version of Facebook. The ad advertised work as a masseuse in the San Diego area. One woman traveled from Miami, Florida to work for Bazar, the other was already living in San Diego. After meeting with Bazar, the women were told that they had to engage in certain sex acts with customers depending on the customer’s wishes. Bazar told one victim that he videotaped her while she was working for him and would disclose the videos to all of her friends on VK if she left him. Law enforcement was alerted to Bazar’s illicit activities after one victim escaped a hotel room in Mission Valley where she was staying and called 911.
"We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to detect and prosecute persons who engage in sex trafficking, a form of modern day slavery." said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. Investigating agencies included the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), California Highway Patrol and San Diego Police Department.
"This case is an example of how the FBI and our law enforcement partners work together to investigate and prosecute sex traffickers," commented FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Eric S. Birnbaum. "The FBI will continue to use our intelligence and investigative resources to strategically address the sex trafficking threat in our communities."
If you believe you are the victim of a trafficking situation or may have information about a potential trafficking situation, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) at 1-888-373-7888. NHTRC is a national, toll-free hotline, with specialists available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year related to potential trafficking victims, suspicious behaviors and/or locations where trafficking is suspected to occur. You can also submit a tip to the NHTRC online.
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