More than 45 teenagers were rescued from the world of sex trafficking during a recent three-day nationwide sting led by the FBI’s Innocence Lost National Initiative.
Operation Cross Country covered 29 cities and led to the arrests of more than 50 accused pimps.
“We continue to pursue those who exploit our nation's children,” FBI Director Robert S. Mueller said in a statement. “We may not be able to return their innocence, but we can remove them from this cycle of abuse and violence.”
Family advocates were thrilled with the effort.
“We are absolutely ecstatic about the work the FBI has done, in taking aggressive action against sexual slavery and going after the real criminals — the pimps,” said Melissa Snow, director of programs at Shared Hope International.
So far, the Innocence Lost initiative has rescued 670 children.
— Josh Montez