Pleasant Hill police have broken up what they say was an Internet-promoted brothel operating from a suburban Pleasant Hill home, arresting the resident of the home on suspicion of Human Trafficking charges.
Police arrested Dominic Salazar, 54, of Pleasant Hill after undercover officers gained entry to the home at 555 Mesa Verde Place and interviewed several women working there June 14.
Police said they were first alerted to the activity at the residence by way of an anonymous tip.
Police said their investigation revealed the home was being advertised as an upscale private club with aspects of the operation being internet based. Detectives also learned that Dominic Salazar, the primary resident of the home, had recruited a number of female workers through the guise of a modeling business.
While in the home and operating in an undercover capacity detectives were reportedly able to develop probable cause to arrest Salazar for various charges related to human trafficking.
On June 17, 2016, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office charged Salazar with multiple crimes related to human trafficking.
The investigation into the case is ongoing, according to police. Anyone with information regarding the case is requested to call the Pleasant Hill Police Department’s Investigation Division at (925) 288-4630.
Good work Pleasant Hills police!
Good work to the person… Maybe a neighbor… Who provided the initial tip.
Did Dominic get signed non-disclosure agreements from the women? I hear they are very popular with businesses that operate on the bubble.
Why does “probable cause to arrest Salazar for various charges related to human trafficking” mean, I wonder? It is clear that funding for increased law enforcement for “human trafficking” is way up. What’s unclear is what, exactly, human trafficking *is* and whether it is a significant and/or growing problem. Recent cases in the news never seem to involve 12 year girls kidnapped and forced into sex slavery.
Obviously, no one wants a brothel next door in a residential neighborhood, so not objecting to the bust– just the characterization by the cops.