Nearly 250 alleged traffickers and prostituted persons were arrested during the month of October as part of Operation Cross Country X, the FBI’s tenth annual law enforcement initiative aimed at combatting the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Of the 239 arrests, 44 took place in New Jersey and the Philadelphia area.
In Philadelphia, 15 traffickers “and [their] associates” were arrested during the operation, which took place in hotels, truck stops, street corners, and other locations throughout the area. The Philadelphia Police Department and the Pennsylvania State Police also participated in the initiative.
In New Jersey, 29 traffickers and prostituted persons were arrested, and one 17-year-old minor was recovered.
The FBI ultimately recovered 82 child victims of commercial sexual exploitation during the operation. Upon recovery, the victims received crisis intervention services and “resources for basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention.”
This year’s operation was also the first to have an international reach, particularly in Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, a two-year-old girl, a five-year-old boy, and an 11-year-old boy were recovered from a location used for website-based commercial sexual exploitation.
While the CSE Institute applauds the FBI’s efforts to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children both in the United States and abroad, it firmly believes initiatives like Operation Cross Country should occur more than just once a year. The CSE Institute also encourages the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to recognize that prostituted persons are oftentimes themselves victims of commercial sexual exploitation, and should be treated as such.