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An FBI agent leads away an adult suspect arrested in a Friday evening sting.  High-resolution version.

In a Virginia hotel that ordinarily caters to business travelers and vacationers, FBI agents and local police officers were encountering a different kind of clientele.

Throughout Friday evening, a handful of prostitutes came thinking they’d made an appointment with a “customer” in Room 403.

Instead, it was a sting. The “customer” was really an undercover cop. And the whole sordid affair was being captured on hidden cameras by officers in the adjoining room. 

The arrests that followed were similar to those playing out across the nation last week during a three-day sweep called Operation Cross Country II. The goal: get child victims of prostitution off the streets and into protective services and disrupt the individuals and organizations that victimize children.

Get a preview of our inside look at Friday's undercover sting. Watch for the complete video feature here later this week. High resolution photo.

The FBI, along with the Department of Justice, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and our law enforcement partners around the country—in all, 92 local, state, and federal agencies in 29 U.S. cities—conducted the coordinated effort as part of our ongoing Innocence Lost Initiative.

A total of 630 law enforcement personnel participated in Operation Cross Country II. The operation resulted in 642 arrests (including 73 pimps and 518 prostitutes), the disruption of 12 large-scale prostitution operations, and, most importantly, the rescue of 49 children—ages 13 to 17 years old—from the sex trade. Ten of those children had been listed as “missing” in the NCMEC database.

At a press conference at FBI Headquarters in Washington today, FBI Deputy Director John S. Pistole said, “Sex trafficking of children remains one of the most violent and unconscionable crimes committed in this country.” He added, “There are few law enforcement missions more important than protecting our nation’s children.” 

Listen to excerpts of remarks at today's press conference. Pictured are FBI Deputy Director John Pistole (right) and Ernie Allen, President/CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Our Innocence Lost Initiative was established in 2003 to address criminal enterprises involved in the domestic sex trafficking of children. The 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.

This cooperative effort—there are currently 28 Innocence Lost task forces and working groups around the country—has been highly successful. Last June, the first Operation Cross Country led to more than 350 arrests and rescues of 21 children. To date, the work of the Innocence Lost Initiative has resulted in:

• 265 indictments;
• 365 convictions on a combination of state and federal charges;
• 46 criminal enterprises disrupted and 36 successfully dismantled; and 
• Substantial sentences of convicted pimps, including two life sentences and several sentences ranging in length from 30 to 40 years. 

Most important of all, our efforts have led to the recovery of 577 child victims.

Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC, estimates there may be “tens of thousands” of juvenile sex trafficking victims in the United States. The Innocence Lost Initiative continues its efforts to rescue them, even if it’s one child at a time. 

Resources:
- Operation Cross Country I
- Innocence Lost webpage

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