FBI Child Trafficking Bust: 82 Minors Rescued

DENVER, CO -- The Oct. 13 offer was simple, $600 for sexual access to two Denver girls, ages five- and three-months-old. But the "customers" were undercover FBI officers, working with the Rocky Mountain team from the Innocence Lost investigation. A family friend of the children was arrested. Video taken by investigators after the arrest shows the floor of a hotel room with a child's stuffed animal, a blanket and a bed strewn with cash.

Eighty-four minors were recovered and 120 traffickers were arrested as part of Operation Cross Country XI, a nationwide effort focusing on underage human trafficking between Oct. 12-15, the FBI and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) announced Wednesday. 84 minor sex workers were recovered and 120 arrests were made.

“We at the FBI have no greater mission than to protect our nation’s children from harm. Unfortunately, the number of traffickers arrested—and the number of children recovered—reinforces why we need to continue to do this important work,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray in a statement. “This operation isn't just about taking traffickers off the street. It’s about making sure we offer help and a way out to these young victims who find themselves caught in a vicious cycle of abuse."

Watch: FBI Announces Results Of Operation Cross Country XI: Underage Sex Trafficking Crackdown

More than 55 FBI Field offices and 78 local task forces participated. The sweeps included international partners from Canada the United Kingdom, Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines, the FBI said.

FBI agents and task force officers staged operations in hotels, casinos, and truck stops, as well as on street corners and Internet websites, The FBI said. The average age of victims recovered during the operation was 15 years old.

As part of Operation Cross Country XI, FBI agents and task force officers staged operations in hotels, casinos, and truck stops, as well as on street corners and Internet websites. The average age of victims recovered during the operation was 15 years old.

Minors recovered during Cross Country Operations are offered assistance from state protective services and the FBI’s Victim Services Division. Depending on the level of need, victims are offered medical and mental health counseling, as well as a number of other services.

Operation Cross Country XI is part of the FBI’s Innocence Lost National Initiative, which began in 2003 and has located 6,500 minors, a statement from the FBI said.

Also recovered in Denver was a young woman from Russia, who is seen on FBI footage from the Denver operation.

As for the two Colorado children, the FBI and Child Protective Services to conduct a forensic interview and find a safe placement for the children.

“Child sex trafficking is happening in every community across America, and at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, we’re working to combat this problem every day,” said NCMEC President and CEO John Clark. “We’re proud to work with the FBI on Operation Cross Country to help find and recover child victims. We hope OCC generates more awareness about this crisis impacting our nation’s children."

Image: Courtesy FBI