FBI Operation Cross Country: Child Sex Trafficking Crackdown Spreads to Philippines in 2016

Manila — The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with representatives from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and several international law enforcement partners, announced that 82 minors were rescued and 239 traffickers and their associates were arrested as part of Operation Cross Country, an international effort focusing on underage human trafficking that ran from October 13 to 16, 2016.
For the first time in ten iterations, this FBI-led initiative took place in several countries around the world, including Southeast Asia, with approximately 10 operations in six cities across Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines.  In the Philippines, using information from the FBI, local law enforcement recovered two boys, ages 5 and 11, and a 2-year-old girl from a location being used to house a website-based service.  Authorities arrested five adults who ran a web-streaming service for individuals who would pay for access to livestreaming sexual abuse, as well as access to the children for the purpose of illegal sexual acts.  The investigation continues to identify additional suspects.
“Operation Cross Country aims to shine a spotlight into the darkest corners of our society that seek to prey on the most vulnerable of our population,” said FBI Director Comey.  “As part of this effort, we are not only looking to root out those who engage in the trafficking of minors, but through our Office for Victim Assistance, we offer a lifeline to minors to help them escape from a virtual prison no person ever deserves.”
Operation Cross Country is part of the FBI’s Innocence Lost Initiative, which began in 2003 and has yielded more than 6,000 child identifications and locations.  For additional information on Operation Cross Country and the Innocence Lost initiative, please visit fbi.gov.