150 Arrested, 105 Children Rescued From Sexual Slavery

The FBI conducted a 76-city sweep in what is the largest law enforcement action on children forced into prostitution rings.

Assistant FBI Director Ron Hosko, head of the bureau’s criminal division, said the children ranged from 13 to 17 years old. The youngest of the victims was allegedly being offered up by her father, who also was allegedly involved in videotaping his daughter’s sexual encounters.

“We have victims whose new normal is sexual abuse,” Hosko said. “We are trying to take this crime out of the shadows and put a spotlight on it.”

In operations involving 230 separate law enforcement agencies, authorities either made arrests or child recoveries from Atlanta to Los Angeles. The weekend action, called Operation Cross Country, also is the latest in a national campaign that has helped recover 2,700 children since 2005.

By: Cheston Catalano

Cheston Catalano is a Kentucky-based journalist whose work has been featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. He is a long-time contributor to Liberaland.