Last week, the FBI and local police in New Jersey worked together to arrest 16 people as part of a major crackdown on child prostitution. The nationwide operation netted more than 800 arrests across 40 cities. Additionally, as a result of the operation, law enforcement recovered 69 missing children.
“Operation Cross County V” was put into action last Thursday, when Newark police arrested two (2) pimps and six (6) prostitutes. The arrests were the culmination of an investigation that began as far back as 2008.
On Friday, Secaucus police arrested one (1) pimp and five (5) prostitutes. Meanwhile Newark police arrested another two (2) prostitutes.
The most important outcome of the sting was that Newark police recovered two (2) missing children. Law enforcement will work with the Division of Youth and Family Services in New Jersey to make sure that the recovered children are either safely returned to their homes or placed into foster care.
In New Jersey, sex crimes are a major problem. Child prostitution poses a particular problem because runaways are drawn to the NY/NJ area for jobs in the fashion and movie industries.
For more information about the FBI’s nationwide crackdown, read the NJ.com article entitled“FBI Arrests 16 in N.J. as Part of National Child Prostitution Crackdown.”
