The FBI has wrapped up a monthlong effort that netted sex traffickers and rescued child victims.
According to the Justice Department, 103 child victims were recovered and 67 suspected sex traffickers were arrested in July’s Operation Independence Day. The FBI’s Washington Field Office, which covers the D.C. and Northern Virginia, recovered two juveniles and arrested five suspected sex traffickers.
The top priority was to locate and rescue minors at great risk of sexual exploitation, the FBI said. The sweep involved more than 400 law enforcement agencies nationwide.
The operation relied on 86 FBI-led child-exploitation-and-human-trafficking task forces. Victim specialists were important players in the operation, ensuring that recovered minors got the help they needed.
“The FBI is fiercely focused on recovering child victims and arresting the sex traffickers who exploit them,” Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.
“Through operations like this, the FBI helps child victims escape the abusive life of sex trafficking.”
