21 Endangered Children Recovered

Today the FBI announced the results of an unprecedented five-day nationwide sweep targeting criminals involved in trafficking children for prostitution in the United States. The stings, dubbed “Operation Cross Country,” spanned 16 cities and resulted in the arrest of 389 people and the recovery of 21 children.

The coordinated operation, which ended June 22, was the largest in the history of the Innocence Lost National Initiative, which marks its five-year anniversary this month. To date, the initiative has rescued more than 400 child victims and led to the conviction of 308 individuals who exploited children through prostitution. Investigations have uncovered schemes that run the gamut from prostituting children at truck stops to promoting their services on the Internet.

“The sex trafficking of children remains one of the most violent and unforgivable crimes,” FBI Director Robert Mueller said during a press conference at FBI Headquarters. “What is different as we stand here today is that we are faced with the increasing use of social network sites and other advances in technology to carry out these crimes and facilitate these criminal enterprises.”

The Innocence Lost initiative was created in 2003 to address the growing problem of child prostitution in America. Our Criminal Investigative Division partnered with the Child Exploitation-Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice and with the nonprofit National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to bring together state and federal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and social service providers. The initiative’s 24 task forces and working groups have recovered 433 children to date and seized over $3 million in assets.

“Child trafficking for the purpose of prostitution is organized criminal activity using kids as commodities for sale and trade,” said NCMEC President and CEO Ernie Allen during the press conference. “These kids are victims. They lack the ability to walk away. This is 21st century slavery.”

More than 350 state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies participated in “Operation Cross Country." The 16 cities targeted spanned the country, ranging from Boston to Miami to San Francisco. They focused primarily on rescuing kids and identifying the organized networks that target and traffic children. The operation was the largest since 2005, when a nationwide sweep identified some 30 child victims and led to the arrest of 19 individuals.

Our partnership with NCMEC has resulted in a significant number of success stories. Examples include:

§                                                                                                         In Kansas, Don L. Elbert, III forced three underage sisters—two of whom were 14-year-old twins—into prostitution. He was captured and pled guilty to child sex trafficking in May 2007. In January, he was sentenced to eight years in prison.

§                                                                                                         In Detroit, Keith Goodwin was sentenced last October to 97 months in prison for the production of child pornography. During a search of his residence, three child victims of prostitution were recovered.

§                                                                                                         In Atlantic City, a former U.S. Postal Service employee was sentenced in March to 23 years in prison for operating a criminal enterprise involving 35-40 females whom he forced into prostitution. His youngest victim was 14 years old.

In addition to the Innocence Lost initiative, our Crimes Against Children program manages Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) Teams, which support state and local law enforcement in investigations, and the Innocent Images National Initiative, which targets the proliferation of child porn.

The message to the public, NCMEC's Allen said, is: "If you see it in your city, if you hear about it, if you suspect it, report it."

To do that, please contact the NCMEC hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or file a report through its CyberTipline.

(Official press release:)

FBI, DOJ, and NCMEC Mark Five-Year Anniversary of Innocence Lost

Today, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children joined together to mark the five-year anniversary of the “Innocence Lost” initiative and to announce recent enforcement actions taken against criminals engaged in the domestic trafficking of children for prostitution. To date, Innocence Lost investigations have led to the conviction of 308 individuals on a combination of state and federal charges. More importantly, our efforts have led to the recovery of 433 child victims.

Just this past week, the FBI joined our law enforcement partners in a five-day national enforcement action. This operation, known as “Operation Cross Country,” included takedown operations in 16 cities across the country and led to the recovery of 21 children.

“Our top priority in these cases has always been to identify child victims and move swiftly to remove them from these dangerous environments,” said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III. “ In the five years since the establishment of the Innocence Lost initiative, the FBI and state and local law enforcement have rescued more than 400 child victims. Unfortunately though, our workload will not slow down after today, as there will be more victims and more criminals who profit by selling our children. We must continue to pursue those who exploit our nation's children.”

In the spring of 2003, the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, in partnership with the Child Exploitation-Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), formed the Innocence Lost National Initiative designed to address the growing problem of children forced into prostitution. This program brings state and federal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and social service providers from around the country to NCMEC, where the groups are trained together. In addition, CEOS has reinforced the training by assigning prosecutors to help bring cases in those cities plagued by child prostitution. To date, the 24 Innocence Lost task forces and working groups have recovered 433 children. The investigations and subsequent convictions have resulted in lengthy sentences, including multiple 25-years to life sentences, and the seizure of over $3 million dollars in assets.

“Child trafficking for the purposes of prostitution is organized criminal activity using kids as commodities for sale or trade,” said Ernie Allen, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. “These kids are victims. They lack the ability to walk away. This is 21st Century slavery. We are proud to have worked hand-in-hand with the FBI and Justice Department in a partnership that is unprecedented, historic, and working.”

The FBI would like to thank our partners who participated in Operation Cross Country and ongoing enforcement efforts, specifically the Toledo Police Department, Michigan State Police, Wayne County Sheriff's Office, Madison Heights Police Department, Montgomery County Police Department, Oakland Police Department, California Department of Justice, Los Angeles Police Department, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Reno Police Department, Sparks Police Department, Washoe County Sheriff's Office, The University of Nevada at Reno School Police, Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff's Office, Dallas Police Department, Phoenix Police Department, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Atlanta Police Department, Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C., Alexandria Police Department, Fairfax County Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, Boston Police Department, Braintree Police Department, Suffolk County Sheriff's Office, Miami Beach Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department, Hallandale Beach Police Department, Bal Harbour Police Department, Miramar Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Miami Police Department, and the Sacramento Police Department.

All of the charges announced today are merely accusations and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.

(Information furnished by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington