FBI to Announce 300 Arrests of Child Prostitution Suspects

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FBI to Announce 300 Arrests of Child Prostitution Suspects
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

WASHINGTON — The FBI will announce 300 arrests in a round-up of child prostitution suspects on Wednesday, federal law enforcement officials told FOX News.

Among those arrested are pimps and prostitutes — some of whom are in their 20s but are said to have admitted selling sex since their early teens.

The raids took place in run-down neighborhoods and interstate truck stops in cities across the country, the sources said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation plans to tout the fifth year of its child protection program with the news of the multitude of arrests that stemmed from "Operation Cross Country" — launched late last week in 16 large and medium-sized cities including Dallas, Boston and Rockville, Md., among others.

The announcement by FBI Director Robert Mueller and Ernie Allen of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children will come during a press conference at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. at 12:30 EDT Wednesday.

The vast majority of those arrested will be charged under state and local statutes, sources told FOX.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,371523,00.html

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[Faith]

I just heard that on Fox-- great news!!

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:happy0158: Great news!

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Breaking News >> FBI Announces Arrests of 300 Child Prostitution Suspects: Watch Live
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http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=117793&catid=40

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Las Vegas Targeted in FBI Child Prostitution Crackdown

Updated: June 25, 2008 09:06 PM EDT

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Las Vegas Targeted in FBI Child Prostitution Crackdown

Police also recovered two juveniles here in the valley -- they are now in protective custody.

The FBI announced a major child prostitution bust with links to Las Vegas. At least 65 people have been arrested.

Las Vegas was one of 16 cities across the country targeted in Operation Cross Country. The five day operation was a joint effort by the FBI, the Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Now dozens of sexual predators are off the streets.

67 arrests took place here in Las Vegas. Some of those arrested include pimps, prostitutes and people soliciting prostitutes.

Police also recovered two juveniles here in the valley -- they are now in protective custody.

Reno was also hit. 14 people were arrested there with one child being taken into protective custody.

FBI Director Robert Mueller has a strong message for those arrested, "Those who exploit children should know that they will be brought to justice, they will be investigated, they will be prosecuted, they will be convicted and they will go to jail."

http://www.lasvegasnow.com:80/Global/story.asp?S=8555491&nav=168XDWn7

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345 arrested, kids rescued in prostitution busts

By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer 29 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of people have been arrested and 21 children rescued in what the FBI is calling a five-day roundup of networks of pimps who force children into prostitution.
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The Justice Department says it targeted 16 cities as part of its "Operation Cross Country" that caps off five years of similar stings nationwide.

Many of the children forced into prostitution are either runaways or what authorities call "thrown-aways" — kids whose families have shunned them. Officials say they are preyed upon by organized networks of pimps who lure them in with shelter or drugs, then often beat, starve or otherwise abuse them until the children agree to work the streets.

"We together have no higher calling than to protect our children and to safeguard their innocence," FBI Director Robert Mueller said Wednesday. "Yet the sex trafficking of children remains one of the most violent and unforgivable crimes in this country."

In all, authorities arrested 345 people — including 290 adult prostitutes — during the operation that ended this week. Since 2003, 308 pimps and hookers have been convicted in state and federal courts of forcing youngsters into prostitution, and 433 child victims have been rescued, Mueller said.

The cities targeted in this week's sting are: Atlanta; Boston; Dallas; Detroit; Houston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; Montgomery County, Md.; Oakland, Calif.; Phoenix; Reno, Nev.; Sacramento, Calif.; Tampa; Toledo, Ohio and Washington.

The problem of child prostitution has taken on a new urgency in recent years with the growth of online networks where pimps advertise the youngsters to clients. The FBI generally investigates child prostitution cases that cross state lines.

The cases aren't easy to convict.

In April 2006, for example, charges against a Nevada man resulted in a hung jury after his 14-year-old victim refused to testify against him. Months later, however, a second jury found Juan Rico Doss of Reno, Nev., guilty of forcing two girls — ages 14 and 16 — to sell sex in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco and Oakland.

A University of Pennsylvania study estimates nearly 300,000 children in the United States are at risk of being sexually exploited for commercial uses — "most of them runaways or thrown-aways," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

"These kids are victims. This is 21st century slavery," Allen said. "They lack the ability to walk away."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080625/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/child_prostitutes_5___