COMPTON, CA (FOX 11) - Residents in neighborhoods on one of Compton’s busiest streets were fed up with a human trafficking problem they said was growing due to city officials’ lackluster response.
On Long Beach Boulevard from Rosecrans to Alondra streets, scantily dressed, young women can be seen looking down at their cell phones while walking on both sides on the street.
Neighbors said at first glance, the women could easily blend in as residents dressed with minimal clothing because it was hot outside.
But then cars would pull up and the women would walk up to the drivers and passengers and begin talking with them sometimes right in the middle of the street.
One neighbor, who didn’t want to be identified on camera due to fear of retaliation, said the women could be seen loitering sex at all hours of the days and nights.
“It makes me feel very uncomfortable. I mean this is something that’s against the law, as we all know, and nothing is being done about it,” he told reporter Leah Uko. “They’re not afraid of walking up to your car. If you do try to record them or try to report them, they’re not even running away.”
Other neighbors said the women would often use their apartment complex’s parking lot as a location for sexual activity.
“If this was somewhere like Culver City or Beverly Hills, I think this problem would be eliminated within a day or a week’s time.”
When FOX 11 visited a complex, used condoms were on the ground in the lot.
As evening hours approached, more women would come out to attract customers.
Mike Dardashti owns property on the street. He said after getting complaints from neighbors about the prostitution traveling to their area, he was going to look into having a fence installed that would close off the property.
But he said the city was giving him the runaround with getting approved.
