Some Larchmont neighbors have raised the alarm as they said sex workers and their customers are coming to the neighborhood every night, engaging in sex acts in front of their houses and leaving behind used contraceptives on the streets.
Two long-time residents spoke with NBC Los Angeles Friday, explaining sex workers, their traffickers and customers frequent the area every day between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m..
“Johns pick up prostitutes on Western, which is a couple of blocks away, then they drive over here and have sex in the car,” a neighbor who identified himself as Larry said. “Not only in the car, it’s also outside the car. I’ve got a bench over here right in front of my house, and they’ve had sex on the bench.”
Another neighbor, Karen Gilman, said she once spotted the unwelcome visitors as early as 7 a.m. when families started gathering for the beginning of school day at Van Ness Elementary School.
“There are children in the neighborhood, walking to school with their parents,” Gilman said.
The neighbors also said the sex workers and their customers leave behind used condoms and wrappers on the street. NBC Los Angeles’ photographer JR Hall also captured the images of what appeared to be used contraceptives, wrappers and boxes on the streets of Larchmont.
“How do you explain this to a 6, 7 or 8-year-old?” Gilman asked.
Although what they have to witness is “disgusting,” the neighbors said they are more concerned about women who are being trafficked and sent to their neighborhood.
“It’s my understanding the reason that it’s getting worse here is because they’ve cracked down on the Figueroa Corridor, and therefore, people are moving into other areas where they are not under so much pressure,” Larry said.
Earlier this month, LA city officials announced surveillance cameras are being installed along the Figueroa Corridor to capture the images of those who buy sex and stop in the area. The LAPD has also said it’s working with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to arrest traffickers and disrupt sex trafficking networks.
Meanwhile, police have urged the neighbors not to engage with the sex traffickers, Larry said, as some people have had “frightening “encounters.
“These are people who have the ability to be violent. In fact, we have been threatened,” Larry said. “We were very clearly spoken to, ‘You stay on your front porch, and just stay away from all of this.’”
The neighborhood association is actively engaged in conversations with the Los Angeles Police Department and the office of Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martienz, they said.
“They said, ‘We can’t arrest our way out of this because of what drives this illicit trade.’ However, we can crew it out of our neighborhood with more patrolling, that’s for sure,” Gilman recalled her conversation with city officials.
For now, the neighbors said they are putting up more signs to warn people that security cameras are recording their activities while pushing the LAPD to add more patrol officers to their neighborhood and “embarrass” sex buyers who stop by the Larchmont neighborhood.
“The police are sending letters to the johns saying, ‘We’re writing to you because we captured your license plate number on camera and this activity, the indecent exposure activity on the public street, and we hope you’re aware of it,’” Gilman said.
In response, Councilmember Soto-Martinez said his office has launched a task force on Western Avenue to address human trafficking.
“As part of this work with the City Attorney and law enforcement, we’re partnering with Journey Out, an organization that specializes in rescuing young women and girls being trafficked to provide survivor-centered support and permanent solutions to these issues,” Soto-Martinez said in a statement.
