85 arrested, hundreds of victims saved in FBI sex trafficking operation

Hundreds of sex trafficking victims have been saved, including 121 children as young as 11 years old, as part of a two-week sex trafficking operation led by the FBI. The operation, called “Operation Cross Country XII,” also led to the arrest of “85 suspects of child sexual exploitation and human trafficking offenses,” according to a Justice Department news release.

“Operation cross country… [is] a national push throughout the FBI to put resources, time, and energy and to build partnerships around addressing trafficking and exploitation, particularly of children,” an FBI victim specialist identified as Megan said in an FBI Youtube video on the sex trafficking operation.

Here’s how the victim numbers break down:

• 84 minor victims of child sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation offenses
• 37 actively missing children
• 141 adult victims of human trafficking

“The Justice Department is committed to doing everything in our power to combat the insidious crimes of human trafficking that devastate survivors and their families,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “I am grateful to the dedicated professionals of the FBI and our law enforcement partners across the country for their tireless work to rescue trafficking survivors, including exploited children, to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of trafficking crimes, and to provide the services and support that survivors need and deserve.”

While each survivor back home is a huge victory, an overwhelming 24 million victims remain in the sex trafficking trade today.

“Human trafficking is among the most heinous crimes the FBI encounters,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. ”Unfortunately, such crimes—against both adults and children—are far more common than most people realize.”