(JERSEY CITY) – The undercover operation was labeled “Operation Cross Country 7″ by the FBI. Like a typical nationwide prostitution bust it included arrests in 76 cities and towns.
However, unlike other sweeps this operation resulted in the rescue of 105 sexually exploited children.
Additionally, the three days of busts netted the arrests of 159, “This operation targeted venues where girls and adults are operating for commercial sex. That includes street tracks, truck stops, motels, casinos, internet sites, social media platforms and the like,” said Ronald Hosko, an Assistant Directe with the FBI who then added, “The children recovered in this operation ranged in age from 13-17 and at least 21 of them had been previously known to our partners at NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children). All of the child victims identified were removed from dangerous environments and relocated to safe settings according to our standards state regulations and local government regulations.”
While New York City did not produce one arrest. There were several that took place across the Hudson in Jersey City as well as some 20 miles away in Fairfield, New Jersey. Local law enforcement telling PIX11 News that the five hotels in town have been cooperative in trying to eliminate pimps and call girls.
“Child prostitution remains a persistent threat to children across America,” said Hosko in an FBI release. “This operation serves as a reminder that these abhorrent crimes can happen anywhere, and the FBI remains committed to stopping this cycle of victimization and holding the criminals who profit from this exploitation accountable.”
Aside from Fairfield and Jersey City, Atlantic City was also targeted by the FBI. The arrests in those three locations produced the recovery of only one minor in New Jersey.
Overall, 105 exploited children being being rescued from a world of forced prostitution shows the dangers of manipulation within a particular age group according to the FBI, “We see this vulnerable age of being 13-16. One of the reasons that we are encountering and working toward adult prostitutes is with the expectation and the anticipation that they were once child prostitutes. So, if they had been prior victims that is not outside of our grasp and our reach. And we are probing into that as an opportunity that they were a child victim or they can identify other child victims. So we have a fairly vigorous engagement with adult prostitutes to pick through that,” said Hosko.
In addition to the arrests and rescues, cash, drugs, guns and vehicles were seized.
Source: FBI
