On Tuesday, the FBI said that during a countrywide enforcement effort last month named “Operation Cross Country,” 200 victims of sex trafficking were located.
Additional 126 child sexual exploitation and human trafficking suspects and 68 trafficking suspects were discovered or apprehended due to the operation.
Operation Cross Country worked in tandem with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to track down victims of sex trafficking, as well as investigate and apprehend the criminals and organizations behind child sex and human trafficking.
Law enforcement authorities could break up criminal organizations by locating and arresting criminals.
During the two-week effort, the bureau and its partners identified 59 children who had been reported missing and were later determined to be victims of child sex trafficking or child sexual exploitation. Those pegged as suspects will be the focus of further inquiry and possible charges.
Specialists facilitate communication between victims of human trafficking and law enforcement and give assistance tailored to each person’s unique requirements.
Victims of human trafficking, many of whom are young, are left with permanent psychological and physical scars. In a statement, FBI Director Christopher Wray reaffirmed the agency’s unwavering dedication to countering the danger posed by terrorist organizations.
State and local partners collaborate with the FBI’s interdisciplinary team of victim experts, child and adolescent forensic interviewers, special agents, and other victim care employees to ensure that victims of trafficking have access to the assistance they need.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the operation, which rescued 59 actively missing children and led to the arrest those responsible for these unspeakable crimes, is an extension of the great work the FBI has done over many years to rescue minor victims and bring those responsible to justice.
More than 19,000 cases of probable child sex trafficking were reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children last year, and more than 400 cases of runaway children suspected of being victims of child sex trafficking were reported.
Since its release over the Fourth of July weekend, the independent film “Sound of Freedom,” about sex trafficking, has grossed more than $130 million worldwide.
