FBI locates sex trafficking victims in nationwide operation that included Iowa
Six adolescents in Iowa and Nebraska are safe following a human trafficking investigation, investigators announced this week.
Federal, state and local police in Iowa and Nebraska freed the children as part of a nationwide law enforcement campaign dubbed “Operation Cross Country,” according to a statement from the FBI’s Omaha Field Office.
In the two states, agencies located six adolescents who were at a “high risk for exploitation,” according to the statement.
"Sadly, the sexual exploitation of children is a continuing problem," FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said in the Monday statement. "The work of the FBI Omaha Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force sends the message that we remain vigilant on those who prey on our country’s most innocent population."
FBI spokeswoman Amy Adams declined to provide additional details about where the adolescent victims were found or from.
Around the country, the investigators located 37 missing children, 84 child victims of sex trafficking and 141 adult victims of human trafficking, according to the statement.
The investigation included work in Iowa and Nebraska from Aug. 11-14 and involved the FBI, the Council Bluffs Police Department and several state and local agencies from Nebraska.
Human trafficking remains a major issue in Iowa
Shared Hope International, a nonprofit that focuses on the trafficking of youth and children, gave Iowa and 38 other states an F on state "report cards" last year over their handling of the sex trafficking. Many states prosecute victims as criminals for prostitution, according to Shared Hope International, or for crimes they commit to survive.
Only eight states — Iowa not among them — “fully protect trafficked children from arrest, detention, charging and prosecution for prostitution offenses," according to the organization.
FBI: Charges filed against more than 80 traffickers
More than 80 suspects face criminal charges, according to the FBI statement. The average age of the victims located was 15-and-a-half years old, while the youngest was 11.
Nationwide, the investigation included special agents, intelligence analysts, victim specialists and child adolescent forensic interviewers working with over 200 officials. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children pursued hundreds of actions as well.
This was the 12th Operation Cross Country investigation, according to the FBI statement.
Chris Higgins covers the eastern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at chiggins@registermedia.com or 515-423-5146 and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins_.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa, Nebraska investigator rescue adolescents from human traffickers
