SANTA ANA – A newly unveiled website is giving authorities a new way to shame and expose people who solicit prostitutes, part of a concerted effort by law enforcement to combat human trafficking in Orange County.

A gallery of more than 70 stark jail booking photos of convicted sex purchasers – most depicting clearly embarrassed or defiant men – has become one of the main centerpieces of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office’s overhauled web page.

The prospect of public embarrassment is meant to dissuade those who would seek out prostitutes.

“They don’t want their wives and friends and people who work with them to know what they are doing,” Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said.

Coming a year after the District Attorney’s Office began to release more information about so-called “johns,” authorities say the publicly displayed gallery is meant to deter others from trying to purchase prostitutes, as well as to educate people about the true impacts of human trafficking.

The new website also follows a recent decision by Anaheim leaders to post online a list of anyone convicted of soliciting a prostitute. Anaheim is the only local city to prosecute misdemeanor crimes that occur in the community rather than handing them over to the District Attorney’s Office.

The focus on prostitution arrests and convictions is part of a larger effort to address human trafficking in Orange County. The District Attorney’s Office in 2013 created the Human Exploitation and Trafficking – or HEAT – unit, and has worked with the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force, which has helped more than 250 human trafficking victims since forming in 2004.

Authorities say they are aggressively prosecuting suspected pimps, with more than 50 felony cases working their way through the local court system. More than 50 people have already been convicted.

“They are slave owners, and they are turning young ladies into slaves,” Rackauckas said.

However, authorities say, going after the “johns” strikes a direct blow on the financial underpinnings of the human trafficking system.

“This whole area of conduct is thought of as very profitable and not very risky,” Rackauckas said. “We are working to disabuse them of that notion.”

Officials are also hoping to educate people about the realities of prostitution and those brought into that life. Many prostitutes begin selling their bodies when they are underage, authorities say, forced into having sex against their will.

“We are sharing the real story of human trafficking,” said Susan Kang Schroeder, chief of staff for the District Attorney’s Office. “They are not doing it on their own free will, and they are often not keeping the money they make.”

Meanwhile, experts, law enforcements officials and political leaders are gathering at Chapman University this week for a symposium that will culminate with a free concert on the campus Friday. The event will also feature a rally where attendees will march in women’s footwear in order to see what it’s like to walk in the shoes of human trafficking victims.

The free concert will be held at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Attallah Piazza on the Chapman campus.

A link to the gallery of those convicted of soliciting prostitutes is located on the DA’s website at orangecountyda.org.

Contact the writer: semery@ocregister.com