PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FBI
The FBI, local law enforcement partners and victim service agencies from throughout the region joined forces to launch multi-day undercover operations targeting child sex trafficking operations in the Portland metro and Eugene areas.
These operations, which ran June 18-22, resulted in the recovery of one minor child and the identification of 20 adult prostitutes. Many of the adults had been trafficked since they were 13 or 14 years old. The Oregon FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force (CETF) conducted these stings in conjunction with a national weeklong event, Operation Cross Country VIII, which included enforcement actions in 54 FBI field offices and 106 cities across the United States.
(The Dark World of Human Trafficking)
Law enforcement and social service providers worked with each victim to provide counseling, mental health services, medical assistance, housing, and advocacy resources to them. Due to the sensitive nature of these cases, the FBI is providing no further details about the minor child sex trafficking victim.
As part of Operation Cross Country VIII, police in Portland, Beaverton and Eugene arrested three traffickers on charges of promoting prostitution.
In addition to the minor victim, local police cited 20 adult women on prostitution charges. Victim specialists offered all of the women the opportunity to access help through law enforcement victim service programs and the social service partners.
“Sex traffickers are selling kids – our kids – every day in motels, on the street and in our neighborhoods for sex,” said Greg Bretzing, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon. “Over time, the children age into adulthood – but the impact of this victimization continues for each of them, their families, and the community as a whole. The FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force brings together our agents, local law enforcement, and passionate community advocates. They are doing great work – not just during Operation Cross Country stings, but every day, pulling children out of horrendously violent and abusive situations. They cannot do their jobs, though, without the help of concerned parents, teachers and community members.”
If you suspect that a child is being sexually exploited, please call your nearest FBI office or local law enforcement agency immediately.
In the course of – but unrelated to – the undercover stings, officers and agents came into contact with a four-year-old child living with a non-custodial parent. That child was placed in state custody, and local police arrested the parent on outstanding warrants.
Facts About Operation Cross Country:
• This is the eighth Operation Cross Country event that the FBI has coordinated since 2008.
• In seven previous Operation Cross Country events, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies joined together to recover 434 child victims and arrest 581 pimps nationwide.
• In Oregon, the FBI participated in Operations III – VII, leading to the recovery of a total of 20 local minor victims during those specific operations.
• Operation Cross Country is part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative, established in 2003 by the FBI, the Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
• Since 2003, the FBI and its task force partners have recovered a total of more than 3,500 children throughout the U.S.
• Since 2003, the task force investigations have led to total of 1,450 convictions and resulted in many lengthy sentences, including 14 life terms.
More information on recent Oregon cases and convictions can be found on the FBI website.
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