Hundreds of FBI special agents partnered with thousands of local
police officers, deputy sheriffs, state troopers, and other law
enforcement personnel throughout the United States this past week,
arresting those responsible for exploiting underage children through
prostitution. The sixth iteration of Operation Cross Country, a
three-day law enforcement action, led to the recovery of 79 children.
Additionally, 104 pimps were arrested by local and state law enforcement
on a variety of prostitution related charges. Above is raw video taken by the FBI agents during the operation.
“Child prostitution remains a major threat to children across
America,” said Kevin L. Perkins, acting executive assistant director of
the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch. “It is a
violent and deplorable crime, and we are working with our partners to
disrupt and put behind bars individuals and members of criminal
enterprises who would sexually exploit children.”
Operation Cross Country is part of the Innocence Lost National
Initiative that was created in 2003 by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative
Division, in partnership with the Department of Justice and National
Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), to address the
growing problem of domestic child sex trafficking in the United States.
“Once again, thanks to decade-long FBI leadership, it is clear that
child prostitution and sex trafficking do not just occur somewhere else
on the other side of the world. These insidious crimes are occurring in
American cities and the victims are American kids,” said Ernie Allen,
president of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
To date, the 47 Innocence Lost Task Forces and Working Groups have
recovered more than 2,200 children from the streets. The investigations
and subsequent 1,017 convictions have resulted in lengthy sentences,
including eight life terms and the seizure of more than $3.1 million in
assets.
Task force operations usually begin as local enforcement actions
targeting such places as truck stops, casinos, street “tracks,” and the
Internet, based on intelligence gathered by officers working in their
respective jurisdictions. Initial arrests are often violations of local
and state laws relating to prostitution or solicitation. Information
gleaned from those arrested often uncovers organized efforts to
prostitute women and children across many states. FBI agents further
develop this information in partnership with U.S. Attorney’s Offices and
the U.S. Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity
Section and file federal charges where appropriate.
The Innocence Lost National Initiative brings state and federal law
enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and social service providers from
across the country to NCMEC, where the groups train together. In
addition, the Department of Justice has reinforced the training by
assigning prosecutors to help bring cases in those cities where child
prostitution occurs.
The FBI thanks the more than 8,500 local, state, and federal law
enforcement officers and agents representing 414 separate agencies who
participated in Operation Cross Country and ongoing enforcement efforts.
The San Diego Innocence Lost Task Force (SDILTF) coordinated efforts
in San Diego County. The SDILTF is a multi-agency task force comprised
of detectives, officers, and agents from the San Diego Police
Department, Oceanside Police Department, San Diego Sheriff’s Department,
Escondido Police Department, and the FBI. SDILTF investigations are
prosecuted by the San Diego District Attorney’s Office and the U.S.
Attorney’s Office.
The North County Prostitution/Human Trafficking Task Force also
devoted significant resources which contributed to the success of the
San Diego operation. The North County Prostitution/Human Trafficking
Task Force focuses on addressing prostitution and human trafficking
issues in North County region.
Other agencies involved in the San Diego operation are as follows:
San Diego Harbor Police Department, Chula Vista Police Department, Naval
Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) Immigration Custom Enforcement (ICE), and Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI).
The following list denotes FBI divisions—not necessarily actual cities—where juveniles were recovered and pimps arrested.
| FBI Division | Juvenile | Pimp |
|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque | 0 | 0 |
| Atlanta | 3 | 5 |
| Baltimore | 0 | 1 |
| Birmingham | 0 | 0 |
| Boston | 1 | 3 |
| Chicago | 3 | 3 |
| Cleveland | 0 | 1 |
| Dallas | 6 | 0 |
| Denver | 2 | 3 |
| Detroit | 6 | 3 |
| El Paso | 1 | 1 |
| Houston | 0 | 1 |
| Indianapolis | 0 | 0 |
| Knoxville | 0 | 0 |
| Las Vegas | 4 | 4 |
| Los Angeles | 5 | 3 |
| Miami | 2 | 4 |
| Milwaukee | 6 | 0 |
| Minneapolis | 0 | 4 |
| Newark | 0 | 3 |
| New Orleans | 3 | 10 |
| New York City | 1 | 1 |
| Oklahoma City | 3 | 7 |
| Omaha | 0 | 2 |
| Philadelphia | 2 | 2 |
| Phoenix | 2 | 1 |
| Portland | 3 | 6 |
| Richmond | 0 | 2 |
| Sacramento | 6 | 6 |
| St. Louis | 2 | 2 |
| San Antonio | 0 | 2 |
| San Diego | 2 | 7 |
| San Francisco | 6 | 7 |
| Seattle | 6 | 7 |
| Tampa | 3 | 3 |
| Washington Field Office | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 79 | 104 |
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