Federal and Local authorities get some major kudos this morning after news was released yesterday that during an operation conducted by the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff in conjunction with the FBI, 16 people, including one pimp were arrested in the Count, while one juvenile was rescued. During the nationwide sweep, 105 children were rescued and 150 pimps were arrested for various state and local charges.
Contra Costa County was part of a nationwide FBI program dubbed Operation Cross Country.
Official Release
SAN FRANCISCO – 12 children, who were being victimized through prostitution, were rescued while 17 individuals, commonly referred to as pimps, were arrested throughout the Bay Area on state and local charges as a part of a countrywide sweep targeting child prostitution.
Operation Cross Country is a national enforcement action that is coordinated through the Innocence Lost National Initiative, which is a partnership between the FBI, local law enforcement partners and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“The issue and crime of child prostitution is not going away anytime soon,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson. “The sexual exploitation of children could be happening in your neighborhood, so we need the public’s help in combating this unthinkable, yet real, crime.”
The San Francisco Division of the FBI and multiple local and state law enforcement participated in the operation from July 24th through July 28th in several Bay Area cities and counties, running a total of 17 local operations.
Nationwide, 105 children were rescued and 150 pimps were arrested for various state and local charges.
The efforts in the Bay Area account for 11.4% of the rescued children and 11.3% of the total number of pimps arrested throughout 76 participating cities in 47 FBI field offices. The origins of this nationwide effort is rooted in northern California, when in 2006 the Bay Area Innocence Lost Working Group sought to target the growing problem of child prostitution by conducting a joint, multi-day operation to rescue children and to arrest those who exploited them.
“As crimes against children are a priority for the FBI, we will continue to target and arrest those individuals who force or manipulate children into prostitution,” added Johnson. “Our children are not for sale.”
The following agencies were a part of the operation: Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, Alameda County Probation, Alameda County Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Task Force, Alameda County Sheriffs, Alameda County Vice Enforcement Team (ACVET), Concord Police, Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office, Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, Daly City Police, Hayward Police, Oakland Police, Petaluma Police, Richmond Police, Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, San Francisco Police, San Jose Police, San Mateo Police, Santa Clara Police, Santa Rosa Police, Sonoma County Sheriffs, South San Francisco Police.
To learn more about Operation Cross Country and the Innocence Lost National Initiative, visit www.fbi.gov, www.justice.gov, or www.ncmec.org.
All photos courtesy of Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office
