FBI Child Sex Trafficking Bust: 3 Juveniles Rescued, 2 Teens Arrested In Illinois

Three minors used as sex slaves were rescued in northern Illinois this month, and two teenage sex traffickers were arrested as part of the FBI's "Operation Cross Country XI." The series of raids netted 120 arrests nationwide as 84 juveniles — including an infant and a 5-year-old girl — were rescued, the FBI and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) announced Wednesday. Chicago and dozens of other FBI field offices were part of the four-day sting from Oct. 12 to 15.

The FBI said the the average age for victims was 15.

Although the Chicago field office had yet to announce the results of the Illinois raids, ABC Chicago's I-Team on Wednesday said it had learned three juveniles were rescued and two human traffickers were arrested here.

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

“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,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said 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."

FBI agents and task force officers staged operations in hotels, casinos and truck stops, as well as on street corners and Internet sites, the FBI said. Operation Cross Country XI is part of the FBI’s Innocence Lost National Initiative, which began in 2003 and has located 6,500 minors.

In Denver, undercover agents say they were offered sexual access to the 3-month-old baby and 5-year-old girl in exchange for $600. 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.

In El Paso, Texas, the FBI said an undercover agent called the number in an online ad for "entertainment" and met with a 21-year-old woman, who offered a fee of $200 to have sex with her and a 16-year-old girl. Another woman allegedly drove the teen and the 21-year-old to the undercover agent's location, the FBI said. The teen was recovered, and both women were arrested. (For more stories like this, subscribe to your local Illinois Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

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

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

“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.”

Jean Lotus (Patch Staff) contributed to this article

Photo: A Denver FBI agent holds the passport of a Russian minor rescued in a sex trafficking raid. Courtesy: FBI