The FBI announced today that, along with local and state law enforcement, they've recovered nearly 50 children who were being prostituted domestically.
Feb. 23, 2009 -- In a three-day sting operation involving 29 cities and all levels of law enforcement, the FBI reported today the recovery of 48 children nationwide who were trapped in the sex trade, some as young as 13.
"We continue to pursue those who exploit our nation's children," said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III. "We may not be able to return their innocence but we can remove them from this cycle of abuse and violence."
Nearly 600 people were arrested on state and federal charges for the domestic trafficking of children for prostitution and solicitation during Operation Cross Country, an action of the Innocence Lost National Initiative, which the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division formed in 2003 in partnership with the Child Exploitation-Obscenity Section of the Justice Department and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
