200 Sex Trafficking Victims Found in FBI Sting

During a two-week sting operation in July to uncover child exploitation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation identified 200 sex trafficking victims and more than 125 suspects. Called “Operation Cross Country XIII,” the sweep also located 59 missing children. The FBI reported that the victims’ average age was 15½, with the youngest being 11 years old.

To locate the victims, the FBI teamed with state and municipal agencies as well as with its own nationwide branches. Agents who specialize in identifying sex trafficking victims are embedded into the illicit operations to gain as much inside information as possible. According to the FBI’s website, in 2022 the agency conducted 391 nationwide operations. As is its practice, the FBI shared only barebones information, and the wording of its press release was ambiguous. For example, this uninspiring statement taken from the FBI’s presser: “Those suspects identified will be subject to additional investigation for potential charges.”

Fox News’ tireless Bill Melugin, who has reported in detail on the endless border crisis, dug deeper into the ugly sexual exploitation tragedy. In their Fox News story, Melugin and colleague Adam Shaw wrote that, based on information obtained from Florida officials, nearly 40 percent of the people arrested in one part of the state were in the U.S. illegally. Seven out of 19 people arrested in Bay County, Florida, were illegal aliens. But facts about how the illegal aliens arrived in Florida weren’t provided. The seven child predators could have been paroled at the border or perhaps are unaccompanied minors or possibly were released when a local police department ignored an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer. These vital details should be provided.