WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI
arrested 150 people across the United States on charges of holding children
against their will for prostitution, a three-day weekend sweep that officials
on Monday called the largest-ever operation against child sex-trafficking.
The suspects, whom the FBI referred
to as "pimps," were arrested in 76 U.S. cities and are expected to
face state and federal charges related to sex crimes and human trafficking, FBI
and U.S. Justice Department officials said at a news conference.
FBI agents and local police
recovered 105 children during the operation at truck stops, motels, casinos and
other places where they were forced to work as prostitutes, officials said.
Of the 150 suspects, 18 were
arrested by agents based in Detroit, 17 by agents from San Francisco and 13 by
Oklahoma City agents, the FBI said.
The FBI said the suspects were not
part of the same operation. It said some belonged to organized crime while
others acted alone. The bureau did not immediately release a list of the
suspects.
The FBI typically does not
investigate adult prostitution, leaving it as a state and local matter, but in
recent years it has made child prostitution a priority in a program the FBI
calls Operation Cross Country. The program includes highway billboards asking
people to call the FBI with tips.
About 1,350 people have been
convicted as part of the program and at least 10 of them were sentenced to life
in prison, officials said.
The latest sweep was the seventh and
largest under Operation Cross Country, they said.
Children who are most vulnerable to
being exploited for sex crimes are between 13 and 16 years old without strong
ties to family members, officials said.
"We are trying to take this
crime out of the shadows and put a spotlight on it," said FBI Assistant
Director Ronald Hosko.
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