In a statewide operation named “Operation Cross Country,” law enforcement agencies worldwide rescued more than 200 victims of sex trafficking, including 84 kids.
The 11-year-old victim was the youngest.
The FBI said that 84 child sex trafficking victims were found as well as 37 kids who were actively missing at the time. Additionally, 141 adult victims of human trafficking were found by law enforcement.
According to the Human Trafficking Institute, children made up more than half of all trafficking victims in the United States in 2021.
Director of the FBI Christopher Wray described sex trafficking as “among the most terrible crimes” the organisation confronts in a press release on Monday.
Sadly, more crimes like this are committed against both adults and children than most people know, according to Wray.
“The FBI and our partners will continue, as we did in this operation, to uncover and arrest traffickers, identify and assist victims, and raise awareness of the exploitation [of] our most vulnerable communities,” said a statement from the FBI.
According to authorities, “Operation Cross Country” is only one concerted effort among several that the agency and its allies are waging daily to look into and eradicate trafficking.
The effort, according to Section Chief Jose Perez, who is in charge of the FBI’s violent crime investigations, “really simply needs a concentrated period of time when we’re just focusing on the issue of child sex trafficking.”
Over a two-week period in August, 391 operations were carried out by more than 200 state, municipal, and federal partners in addition to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
“Operation Cross County’s success confirms what NCMEC observes on a daily basis.
In communities all around the nation, traffickers, gangs, and even family members are buying and selling children for sex “says the center’s president and CEO, Michelle DeLaune.
According to police, investigators also found or detained 85 suspects in human trafficking and child sex exploitation.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said that “the Justice Department is dedicated to doing all in our ability to fight the heinous crimes of human trafficking that harm survivors and their families.”