Graves Outlines Scope of Human Trafficking In Contra Costa

From left to right: Steve Astrachan, LRWF program chair; Eve Gordon, LRWF president; and Paul Graves, senior deputy district attorney for Contra Costa County.

Paul Graves, Senior Deputy District Attorney for Contra Costa County and a former candidate for District Attorney, described the depth of human trafficking in Contra Costa County yesterday at the Lamorinda Republican Women Federated’s January General Meeting in Pleasant HIll. Among the recent cases he described, Graves pointed to one of the nation’s biggest which was based in Danville and was shut down in 2018.

Graves also is president of Community Violence Solutions (CVS), a non-profit with offices in Antioch, San Pablo, and San Rafael. Traffickers often target at-risk populations, including victims of other forms of violence, homeless youth, unaccompanied minors, and other displaced or transient individuals. One of the insidious, current trafficking operations in the county involves Chinese nationals smuggling people into the area for trafficking, commonly through massage parlors, and then laundering the proceeds, he explained.

For help in assisting assist trafficking victims call the CVS hotline at 1-800-670-7273. To volunteer please visit https://cvsolutions.org/volunteer/.

More than 60 members and guests attended the luncheon meeting at Zio Fraedo’s in Pleasant Hill.