Indiana Victims Among 84 Minors Saved in National Sex Trafficking Operation

84 minors were recovered during and 120 traffickers were arrested as part of the FBI's Operation Cross Country XI, the FBI and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) announced Wednesday, including operations in Indiana. The 11th FBI-led Operation Cross County is an effort which focuses on underage human trafficking from Oct. 12 through Oct. 15, 2017 in 55 FBI field offices, with hundreds of law enforcement officers from 78 state and local task forces, the FBI reports. The FBI adds OCC also included several international partners.

Included in this operation were the arrests or identifications of several traffickers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and South Bend, FBI Indianapolis reports.

“The recovery of juveniles who are victims of sex trafficking is the goal during our operations around the
state. Through the dedicated work of FBI personnel, working together with state and local law
enforcement partners, we significantly impacted sex trafficking in Indiana,” said Assistant Special Agent
in Charge Gregory Massa. “This was not a one-time effort – these operations will continue with the goal
of locating and removing juveniles from sex trafficking.”

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

OCC actions also took place in Denver, Colorado and Toledo, Ohio from October 12-14, 2017, as seen in the FBI video below.

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FBI said agents and task forces officers went to casinos, truck stops, hotels, street corners and internet websites to stage parts of OCC. Officials say the youngest victim recovered during this year's operation was three months old, and the average age of victims was 15 years old.

RELATED: FBI Asks For Help In Identifying Child Predator

“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 release. “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."

These minors 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, the FBI said in a release.

Photo/Video credit: Federal Bureau of Investigations