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Federal, state and county law enforcement officers in Hawaii located seven child sex trafficking victims Friday as part of a nationwide recovery effort dubbed “Operation Cross Country XII,” according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Honolulu Division.
In Hawaii, the FBI partnered with the U.S. Secret Service, the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office, the Honolulu Police Department, the Missing Child Center Hawaii, State of Hawaii Child Welfare Services, and the Susanna Wesley Community Center to identify and locate seven adolescent victims during the operation, an FBI news release said.
Nationwide, the FBI and its partners located 141 adult victims of human trafficking and arrested 85 suspects on suspicion of child sexual exploitation and human trafficking offenses, according to the release.
The people identified “will be subject to additional investigation for potential charges”, according to the FBI.
The average age of the nationwide victims located during the operation was 15.5 years. The youngest victim was 11.
“Operation Cross Country highlights the importance of working with our law enforcement partners in locating and recovering these seven keiki, along with the arrest of two traffickers,” said Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Honolulu division, Steven Merrill. “These tireless efforts will now allow these keiki to get back on the right track with the assistance of the FBI’s victim specialists, MCCH, CWS, and SWCC.”
Over two weeks in August, FBI agents, intelligence analysts, victim specialists, and child adolescent forensic Interviewers working with more than 200 state, local, and federal partners and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children ran 391 operations, according to the news release.
“The success of Operation Cross County reinforces what NCMEC sees every day. Children are being bought and sold for sex in communities across the country by traffickers, gangs and even family members,” said Michelle DeLaune, President and CEO National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, in a statement. “We’re proud to support the FBI’s efforts to prioritize the safety of children. This national operation highlights the need for all child serving professionals to continue to focus on the well being of children and youth to prevent them being targeted in the first place.”
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