FBI raids rescue 105 teens from sex trade

Weekend raids in more than 70 cities across the United States resulted in the arrest of 150 "pimps" and the rescue of 105 sexually exploited children, the FBI said Monday.

The operation, the largest FBI raid targeting alleged perpetrators of child prostitution, focused "on the recovery of sexually exploited children, and took law enforcement agencies to streets, motels, casinos and social media platforms," Ronald Hosko, assistant director of the FBI's criminal investigative division, said in a statement.

The youngest child rescued was 13 years old, the agency said.

The operation is "being described as a coordinated offensive across the U.S," said Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington D.C. “They have arrested more than 150 people for the exploitation of children and adults," added Fisher. "Of the children rescued, they are now in the hands of child protective services across U.S.”

Hosko said he hoped the raids would focus attention on sex trafficking, “this threat that robs us of our children."

The raids, dubbed Operation Cross Country, took place in 76 cities and were carried out by the FBI in partnership with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and the participation of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), a non-profit group that is part of the bureau's Innocence Lost National Initiative.

Since its creation in 2003, the Innocence Lost National Initiative has resulted in the identification and recovery of 2,700 children who have been sexually exploited and led to substantial sentences of convicted "pimps," including eight federal life sentences and terms of imprisonment frequently ranging from 15-50 years, according to the FBI statement.

The investigations and convictions of 1,350 individuals have led to life imprisonment for 10 pimps and the seizure of more than $3.1 million in assets.

John Ryan, the head of the NCMEC, called the problem "an escalating threat against America's children."

The Justice Department, meanwhile, estimates that nearly 450,000 children run away from home each year and that one-third of teens living on the street will be lured toward prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home.

Congress has introduced legislation that would require state law enforcement, foster care and child welfare programs to identify children lured into sex trafficking as victims of abuse and neglect eligible for the appropriate protections and services.

"In much of the country today if a girl is found in the custody of a so-called pimp she is not considered to be a victim of abuse, and that's just wrong and defies common sense," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said during a Senate Finance Committee hearing last month. Wyden co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH).

Source: Al Jazeera and wire services