FBI, Law Agencies Rescue 105 Children From Sex Traffickers, Including Two in St. Louis

A nationwide operation targeting underage prostitution has freed 105 children, including at least two juveniles in the St. Louis area, the FBI reported Monday.

Two 17-year-old girls and one 16-year-old girl were rescued from undisclosed locations in the St. Louis and St. Charles county areas. One pimp was arrested in the area, said Rebecca Wu, a spokesperson for the FBI office in St. Louis.

Wu said all three girls were involved in separate cases, and the pimp who was arrested was not related to any of the three girls. The FBI could not release any more details regarding the girls or the arrest, she said.

Over three days, the FBI, local, state and federal law enforcement partners and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) conducted Operation Cross Country VII, a three-day action to address commercial child sex trafficking across the United States.

Ten law enforcement agencies in the St. Louis area cooperated with the FBI:

• St. Louis County Police
• St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department
• St. Charles Police
• O’Fallon Police
• St. Peters Police
• Wentzville Police
• St. Louis Metropolitan Police
• Missouri State Highway Patrol
• Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department
• Franklin County Sheriff’s Department

The operation included enforcement actions in 76 cities across 47 FBI divisions nationwide and led to the recovery of 105 children who were being victimized through prostitution. Additionally, 159 pimps were arrested on state and federal charges, according to an FBI news release.

“Child prostitution remains a persistent threat to children across America,” said Ron Hosko, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.

“This operation serves as a reminder that these abhorrent crimes can happen anywhere, and the FBI remains committed to stopping this cycle of victimization and holding the criminals who profit from this exploitation accountable,” Hosko said.

One such victim was Alex, according to an FBI news release. At age 15, she aced with a difficult family situation at home, she decided to leave and stay with a girlfriend and then an aunt. When that didn’t work out, she found herself on the street—with an abusive boyfriend who wanted to pimp her out.

The FBI released a video transcript of Alex, who talked about how she was lured by sex traffickers, how she survived and how she got out.