Some Good News: FBI Rescues 84 Children From Sex Trafficking Across U.S.
It's always good to see some good news.
Earlier today, the FBI announced a successful sting that was able to save over 80 children that were being trafficked as sex workers across the United States.
The FBI's annual nationwide sex trafficking crackdown has led to the recovery of 84 exploited children, among them infants and toddler, and landed 120 suspects behind bars. Over the course of four days, from October 12-15, FBI agents from 55 field offices and hundreds of state and local law enforcement officials participated in Operation Cross Country XI targeting human traffickers.As part of the operation, FBI agents and task force officers carried out stings in hotels, casinos, and truck stops, as well as on street corners and Internet websites visited by pimps, prostitutes, and their johns.'We at the FBI have no greater mission than to protect our nation’s children from harm. Unfortunately, the number of traffickers arrested—and the number of children recovered—reinforces why we need to continue to do this important work,' said FBI Director Christopher Wray. 'This operation isn't just about taking traffickers off the street. It’s about making sure we offer help and a way out to these young victims who find themselves caught in a vicious cycle of abuse.' The youngest victim rescued during this year’s bust was just three months old, and the average age of victims recovered during the operation was 15 years old. Now in its 11th iteration, Operation Cross Country has expanded beyond the US borders, with Canada, the United Kingdom, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Thailand undertaking similar operations.During operations by FBI Denver’s Rocky Mountain Innocence Lost Task Force, a three-month-old girl and her five-year-old sister were rescued on October 13 after a friend who was staying with the family made a deal with an undercover task force officer to sell both children for sex in exchange for $600.The Denver task force is responsible for rescuing a total of 17 children across Colorado and Wyoming.On the same day, a 16-year old girl was recovered by a FBI field office in El Paso, Texas, after an undercover agent answered an online ad offering entertainment. -(Snejana Farberov, Daily Mail)