Photo: An arrest in connection with ‘Operation Cross County’ in Atlantic County, New Jersey Photo: FBI/EPA
The Telegraph – July 29, 2013
http://tinyurl.com/pycy9m2
A nationwide sting focused on underage prostitution has freed 105
sexually abused youths and netted 150 pimps, the FBI has announced.
Most of the minors rescued during the three-day operation in 76
cities are aged 13 to 16, said Ronald Hosko, assistant director of the
FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.
“Our goal is that child trafficking is openly discussed,” Mr Hosko told reporters on Monday.
“We are trying to take this crime out of the shadows and put a spotlight on it… to put them (the children) out of the cycle.”
The sweep took place in conjunction with local, state, and federal
law enforcement, as well as the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children (NCMEC).
NCMEC CEO John Ryan said the sting, dubbed Operation Cross Country,
“demonstrates just how many of America’s children are being sold for sex
every day, many on the Internet.”
San Francisco agents freed a dozen children and arrested 17 pimps,
while the FBI’s Detroit team rescued 10 children and took 18 pimps into
custody. In Atlanta, two youths were recovered, while 17 pimps were
detained.
The busts typically began by targeting truck stops, casinos, as well
as websites that advertise dating or escort services, the FBI said. The
detained often ended up helping uncover wider networks of prostitution
that cross state lines, turning it into a federal crime.
The operation was part of the bureau’s Innocence Lost National
Initiative, which, since its launch in 2003, has been involved in the
rescue of more than 2,700 sexually exploited children.
One girl freed in an earlier operation, identified only as Alex in an
interview posted on the FBI’s website, was 15 when she left a difficult
home situation, and 16 when she turned to prostitution.
“At first it was terrifying, and then you just kind of become numb to
it,” she said of her experience on the streets. “You put on a whole
different attitude – like a different person. It wasn’t me. I know that.
Nothing about it was me.”
She ultimately contacted the FBI, which, with her help, arrested two pimps and rescued several other minors.
FBI agent Kurt Ormberg, involved in that operation, said vulnerable
children tend to be seeking to fill a void, often related to problems at
home.
“Too often,” he said, “these young victims don’t think they have anywhere else to turn.”
There have been 1,350 convictions from the Innocent Lost initiative’s
investigations, resulting “in lengthy sentences, including 10 life
terms and the seizure of more than $3.1million in assets,” the FBI
statement said.
Archangel Michael
Today’s
‘Star of David’ planetary line-up features two grand trines, three
oppositions, three mystic rectangles and a couple of T-squares all
wrapped up in six sextiles – so what does that mean?
MYTRE SPEAKS:
