The FBI recently teamed up with local law enforcement across the nation to rescue child prostitutes. The three-day initiative, known as Operation Cross Country, targeted 29 U.S. cities – including Toledo, Cleveland and Lima – and recovered 48 children.In Ohio, 18 adults were arrested. And of the 19 state busts, the only state with more targeted zones than Ohio was California. Lima was the smallest city on the list.
During the three-day period, more than 571 people were arrested on domestic trafficking and prostitution-related charges.
This is the third Operation Cross Country sweep to occur since the formation of the Innocence Lost National Initiative, a federal program created to fight child prostitution. Over the life of the project, the Innocence Lost Task Forces have recovered 670 children, including 9 girls in Pennsylvania who were sold from Toledo, Ohio, and forced into a prostitution ring out of state.
On January 6, 2009, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland signed into law a bill that requires stricter sentences for human trafficking crimes, including increased prison sentences and jail time for convictions on promoting prostitution, illegally using a minor in pornography and endangering children. The bill also encourages the Attorney General's office to form a Trafficking in Persons Study Commission to study the issue.
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