168 US children rescued from sex traffickers, FBI says

Federal authorities conducted a sweep through more than 100 US cities and recovered 168 children from child sex trafficking, the FBI said on Monday.

Some 281 pimps were also arrested in Operation Cross-Country, a weeklong enforcement effort that Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said can help "end the cycle of victimization" of US youngsters.

This is the eighth time the FBI has coordinated a nationwide crackdown, Comey said. Known as Operation Cross Country, the effort involved 54 FBI field divisions and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, USA Today reported on Monday.

Last week's operation is part of a larger initiative that in the past seven years has identified and recovered about 3,400 children who have been sexually exploited, the FBI said. The operation also has led to 1,450 convictions, 14 life prison terms and the seizure of more than $3.1 million in assets.

"Operation Cross Country reveals that children are being targeted and sold for sex in America everyday," the reported quoted John Ryan, president and CEO of the national center, as saying.

Operations in Oregon led to the recovery of one child and the identification of 20 adult prostitutes, many of whom had been trafficked since they were 13 or 14 years old, FBI's Portland office reported. Police officers in Portland, Beaverton and Eugene each arrested one trafficker on state charges of promoting prostitution, according to the report.

It said the largest number of children, 18, were recovered in Denver. Denver area police on Friday arrested a 19-year-old man, who is accused of repeatedly slapping a 16-year-old runaway when she didn't collect enough money from her "dates", according to court documents. The girl told police she was taken from hotel to hotel to perform sex acts and was too scared to flee.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said sex traffickers "create a living nightmare for their adolescent victims" who are targeted and sold for sex in the United States.

"They use fear, and force, and treat children as commodities of sex to be sold again and again," Caldwell said in a statement.

"This operation puts traffickers behind bars and rescues kids from their nightmare so they can start reclaiming their childhood."