FBI - Operation Cross Country IX Nets Sex Trafficking Arrests & Rescues, Oct 2015

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...fficking-Investigatio&p=12118601#post12118601

PA-WV 25 Arrested in Western Pa., Northern West Virginia Child Sex Trafficking Investigation

WHEELING, W.Va -
A nationwide effort targeting child sex trafficking resulted in the arrests of 25 people, including two alleged pimps and the rescue of three alleged victims.

The FBI announced Tuesday, Operation Cross Country IX covered Wheeling, Pittsburgh, Green Tree, Greensburg, and Erie.

“Initiatives like Operation Cross Country shine a much needed spotlight on criminals that prey on vulnerable young children,” said United States Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia William J. Ihlenfeld, II. “As law enforcement officers, our primary focus is on keeping communities safe. By working together, we can work to ensure that children are not treated as commodities for financial profit. I applaud this collaborative effort to rescue victims of human trafficking and to hold offenders accountable.”

The FBI has not release the suspects' names or where they were arrested.

"In June 2015 I had the opportunity to attend The White House Convening on Trafficking and Child Welfare, where "survivors" of human trafficking spoke of their experiences in the trafficking trade,” said Lt. Danny Swiger, Director, West Virginia State Police Crimes Against Children Unit. “There were two common themes presented by the survivors, they were sexually abused as children and they were runaways. This revelation has led us to increase our efforts and focus on addressing these two issues so that we may be able to prevent the children of West Virginia from becoming human trafficking victims."

Nationwide, more than 500 federal, state and local law enforcement organizations, conducted both “in-call” and “out-call” operations in hotels, casinos, truck stops and in other areas known to be visited by prostitutes, sex-traffickers, and their customers.

Nationally, 149 victims or potential victims were rescued; the youngest was 12"

I applaud the FBI for these efforts. I attended a lecture at a local High School a couple of years ago and two of the women who spoke had been rescued and rehabilitated from being trafficked- once they have been saved it is important there is support in place- housing, counseling, job training etc. Just because they have been found and set free doesn't even come close to meaning that it is over for them.

Twelve years old is so young. I hope they have a good system in place for these victims. My heart breaks for each and every one of them.

I am so tired of seeing "endangered runaway" on missing posters and information at The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. More often than not if a child is 'running away' it is because the streets are potentially safer then their home (how tragic is that) and they are prime targets for being trafficked. Even a runaway who 'chooses' prostitution (I hate that word) doesn't really choose it- the fact is they end up not really having any other choice if they are poor or have no one to turn to for help.

I am so grateful for these interagency stings and think we'll be seeing a lot more of them as more and more people become aware and begin to care.

I hope that if these victims are missing persons they can be reunited with loved ones. So many missing children and adults............I am surrounded by this area!

"Working with state and local authorities, the FBI has rescued 149 sexually exploited children and arrested 153 pimps and sex traffickers in a coordinated action across 135 US cities dubbed ‘Operation Cross Country IX."

https://www.rt.com/usa/318696-sex-slavery-children-fbi/

Operation Cross Country
Recovering Victims of Child Sex Trafficking

10/13/15

Operation Cross Country, a nationwide law enforcement action that took place last week and focused on underage victims of prostitution, has concluded with the recovery of 149 sexually exploited children and the arrests of more than 150 pimps and other individuals.

The FBI, in partnership with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), conducted the annual action—the ninth and largest such enforcement to date—as part of the Bureau’s Innocence Lost National Initiative.

“Our mission is to protect the American people—especially our children—from harm,” said FBI Director James Comey.” When kids are treated as a commodity in seedy hotels and on dark roadsides, we must rescue them from their nightmare and severely punish those responsible for that horror. We simply must continue to work with our partners to end the scourge of sex trafficking in our country.”

[...]
This year’s enforcement action, coordinated through 73 of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Forces—which include federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies—was conducted nationwide in 135 cities. More than 500 law enforcement officials took part in sting operations in hotels, casinos, truck stops, and other areas frequented by pimps, prostitutes, and their customers. The youngest recovered victim was 12 years old.

[...]
During Operation Cross Country, nearly 100 victim specialists from the FBI’s Office for Victim Assistance provided on-scene services to recovered young victims. Services included crisis intervention as well as resources for basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention.

“From an investigative standpoint, Operation Cross Country targets the individuals and criminal enterprises responsible for the commercial sex trafficking of children,” said one of the Bureau’s victim specialists. “But our main goal is to provide support and services for these young victims—to help stabilize them and get them moving forward in a positive direction.”

Thanks Bessie! God bless the men and women working together for these victims, they seem to be looking at the big picture and the necessary steps towards helping these children in the aftermath. This makes me very proud. We have come along way over the last 10 years or so!

20 juveniles rescued, 7 pimps busted in Denver during FBI's 'Operation Cross Country IX'
Deb Stanley ABC-7 News
11:30 AM, Oct 13, 2015 - 7:46 PM, Oct 13, 2015

[...]
"This is the second year in a row the local operation recovered more juveniles than any other city in the country," according to Denver FBI spokeswoman Deborah Sherman.

In Denver, 20 underage victims were rescued and seven pimps were arrested as part of Operation Cross Country IX.

FBI officials said one of the victims rescued was a 14-year-old girl who was being trafficked for sex on Colfax by a gang member.

"Today, she has reconciled with her family and is in a treatment program," the FBI said.

---

Springs human trafficking bust nets 23 arrests
Chris Loveless, Digital Content Director
Angelica Lombardi , Multimedia Journalist
POSTED: 02:28 PM MDT Oct 13, 2015 UPDATED: 11:00 PM MDT Oct 13, 2015

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Colorado Springs police say 23 people were arrested during a human trafficking crackdown between Oct. 5 and Oct. 10, 2015.

The sting was part of Operation Cross Country, which is a nationwide effort to disrupt human trafficking for sexual exploitation.

"We've recovered here, girls who've worked in Chicago, New York, Houston, Dallas, New Orleans, all over the country before arrested here in Colorado Springs," said Mark Comte with Colorado Springs police human trafficking unit.

Three minors recovered, three alleged pimps arrested in Sacramento County
By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Five juveniles were recovered and seven alleged pimps were arrested in Sacramento, Fairfield and Fresno during a recent nationwide operation by law enforcement agencies targeting human trafficking.

[...]
In Sacramento, the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes officers from the Sacramento Police Department, recovered two minors and arrested three alleged pimps, while the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department recovered one minor.

In Fairfield, the FBI, Fairfield Police Department, Solano County Sheriff’s Office and the Vallejo Police Department recovered one child and arrested two alleged pimps.

The Fresno operations conducted by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force – which includes officers from the Fresno Police Department – the Fresno Sheriff’s Office and the Tulare Police Department resulted in the recovery of one minor and the arrest of two alleged pimps.

Alleged Converse pimp arrested in nationwide FBI operation; 4 children recovered
By Robert Taylor - Web - News Editor , Myra Arthur - Anchor/Reporter , Concetta Callahan - Anchor/Reporter
Posted: 10:57 AM, October 14, 2015 - Updated: 6:48 PM, October 14, 2015

AN ANTONIO - Four underage sex trafficking victims and one alleged pimp were arrested in San Antonio as part of a nationwide takedown initiative called Operation Cross Country IX, the FBI said.

Melvin Lee Sullivan Deams, 20, of Converse, was arrested in the operation and charged with one count of sex trafficking of a minor. The FBI said the complaint against Deams stated that on or about Oct. 8 he transported two underage girls to a San Antonio-area hotel to engage in sex acts for money. The complaint also said Deams and others involved kept all the money paid in the transaction. If convicted, Deams faces between 10 years to life in prison.


Dallas pimp arrested, 5 kids freed in FBI’s nationwide human trafficking sweep
Matt Peterson
Published: October 14, 2015 11:55 am

A suspected pimp from Dallas was among 150 people arrested in a nationwide child trafficking operation, the FBI announced Wednesday.

Federal authorities also rescued 149 child trafficking victims, some as young as 12 years old. Five of them were in the Dallas area and were recovered with help from local law enforcement.

Nationwide Human Trafficking Operation Targets Local Victims
By Sarah Thomsen
Published: October 14, 2015, 6:00 pm Updated: October 14, 2015, 6:00 pm

Law enforcement in Brown County, Fond du Lac, Appleton and Oshkosh joined other state and federal agents for Operation Cross Country IX late last week.

In our area, they arrested six pimps, plus 15 adults and one juvenile identified as the victims of trafficking.

A total of eleven people were arrested for trafficking in Wisconsin.

Human trafficking sting in La Crosse leads to four arrests
Posted: Wed 6:33 PM, Oct 14, 2015
By: Erin O'Brien

TOWN OF CAMPBELL, Wis. (WEAU) -- A human trafficking operation in La Crosse last Friday led to the arrest of four people.

Members of the Coulee Region Children's Internet Protection Task Force teamed with local agencies to target human trafficking and underage prostitution.

Two women and one man were arrested on charges of prostitution, and a 43-year-old Onalaska man was arrested when he traveled to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old girl for sex.

Five accused Virginia Beach pimps arrested in sex trafficking bust denied bond
Posted 5:16 pm, October 13, 2015 - Updated at 05:35pm, October 14, 2015
by Doris Taylor and Nadeen Yanes

Virginia Beach, Va. - Five people in Virginia Beach who were among 153 accused pimps busted in the FBI's Nationwide human trafficking operation were all denied bond.

Three juveniles in Hampton Roads, ages 16-17, were rescued and officials say there are actually a dozen pimps arrested across several cities including Chesapeake, Hampton, Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

FBI in New Orleans announces arrests in nationwide human trafficking sting
Posted 11:25 PM, October 13, 2015,
by Curt Sprang, Updated at 07:50pm, October 14, 2015

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) -- The FBI in New Orleans announced the arrest of 7 pimps and the rescue of 3 underage victims in connection with an undercover sting called Operation Cross Country IX. This is the ninth year for the operation. Nationally, the FBI announced the arrest of 153 pimps and the rescue of 149 underage trafficking victims.

When I read the FBI's announcement of 149 victims rescued I came here hoping to start seeing "Found/Safe" on a bunch of missing child cases. I still hope we'll have oh, say 149 threads with those words in the title.

It seems pretty daunting for the child protection agencies involved to make sure these children get the help they need to recover from such a traumatic experience because there's so many of them! 149 victims. Wow. Sadly, there's way more than that still out there waiting to be rescued.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/11/26/fbi-grassroots-groups-fight-sex-trafficking-in-denver/

DENVER (CBS4) – The FBI calls forced prostitution one of the biggest criminal industries in the country, and they’re fighting sex trafficking in Denver.

“It’s like your soul is screaming to get out of your body… to leave,” said Hope Valor, who was a 10-year-old runaway when she was forced to have sex for money.

Q: “What did they do to you?”

A: “They pushed me into a bedroom door where a man who was in his 40s or 50s, about my dad’s age, and told me that I had to do whatever he wanted.”

The couple who took her in were sex traffickers. They were the first of many for Valor, who endured years of rape and abuse before finally breaking free.

Nationwide, as many as 300,000 children are forced into the sex trade. Only about 1% are ever identified.

“This is a tough crime to assess,” said Denver police sergeant Dan Steele, who works with the FBI’s “Innocence Lost” initiative.

A national raid last month netted 150 pimps, and rescued 149 children. He says while prostitutes still advertise on the street, pimps have gone high tech.

http://www.wect.com/story/30633610/...ect&utm_medium=S&utm_campaign=TrendingStories

How to spot sex-trafficked girls in plain sight

So what should you look out for if these trafficked girls are hiding in plain sight?

Experts say notice her body language, does she seem confused?
If you ask her questions, do her answers seem rehearsed?
Is she with an older man?
Does it seem like she's being controlled?
Does she look too young for the clothing she's are wearing?

"The first thing I would look for is the girl's eyes—are they downcasted?” DeRomano said. “When they're under pimp control, you're not supposed to look anybody in the eyes."

I not sure if this is right place to post this?

Topeka woman admits trafficking teen girl for sex in multi-state prostitution ring



Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article121784133.html#storylink=cpy