FBI Assistant Director Ronald Hosko announced on Monday that the agency rescued 105 child sex-trafficking victims, CNN reported. A three-nationwide action called Operation Cross Country focused exclusively on underage victims of prostitution concluded with the arrests of 150 pimps and other individuals.
The sweep took place in 76 cities, and was carried out by the FBI in partnership with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) as part of the Bureau's Innocence Lost National Initiative. It is the aeventh and largest such enforcement action to date .
"Child prostitution remains a persistent threat to children to children across America," Ron Hosko, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division said. "This operation serves as a reminder that these abhorrent crimes can happen anywhere and thet the FBI remains committed to stopping this cycle of victimization and holding the criminals who profit from this exploitation accountable."
Since 2003, the Innocence Lost National Initiative has saved more than 2,700 children who have been sexually exploited, news reports said.
Special Agent Kurt Ormberg explained a "void" exists in children who have been sexually exploited: "That void might be related to family, food, or shelter, but it's a void that needs to be filled, and pimps fill it. Too often, these young victims don't think they have anywhere else to turn," referring to their reliance on pimps and other nefarious characters.
Forty-seven FBI divisions took part in Operation Cross Country VII, along with more than 3,900 local, state, and federal law enforcement officers and agents representing 230 separate agencies, news reports said.
