FBI announced Monday that they arrested 159 adults who were sex trafficking children and rescued 105 juveniles.
A 3-day-long operation--'Operation Cross Country'--held in 76 major cities, more than 230 law enforcements including FBI, and other local, state and federal agencies took down major sex trafficking rings that have been spreading through online. The traffickers have been utilizing many truck stops, motels, hotels, and racetracks to sell children for sex.
This is the 7th 'Operation Cross Country' to free children in captivity, rescuing over 2,700 children.
The rescued 105 "sexually exploited children" were mostly females between the ages of 13 and 17. "Child prostitution remains a persistent threat to children across America," said Ron Hosko, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigation Division and continued, "This operation serves as a reminder that these abhorrent crimes can happen anywhere, and the FBI remains committed to stopping this cycle of victimization and holding the criminals who profit from this exploitation accountable."
John Ryan, CEO of NCMEC--one of the 230 agencies teamed up with the FBI for the project--said, "Operation Cross Country demonstrates just how many America's children are being sold for sex everyday, many one the Internet."
The highest arrest and rescues were made Detroit with 18 arrested pimps and 10 rescued children and San Francisco with 17 arrested pimps and 12 rescued children. Then Atlanta came third with 17 arrested pimps and 2 rescued juvenile prostitutes and closely followed by Oklahoma City with 13 arrested pimps and 3 rescued children.
Special agent Kurt Ormberg explained the most of the juvenile prostitutes fell under the pimps' grasp often because they have tendency to have voids in their lives. The "pimps fill it", nurture their victims, and eventually sexually exploit them. Ormberg added, "Too often these young victims don't think they have anywhere else to turn."
