UPDATE: FBI raids rescue 105 kids forced into prostitution
The FBI says it has rescued 105 children who were forced into prostitution in the United States and arrested 150 people it described as pimps and others in a series of raids in 76 American cities. Nineteen of the arrests were made in southern Colorado.
The campaign, known as “Operation Cross Country,” was the largest of its type and conducted under the FBI’s “Innocence Lost” initiative. The assistant director of the FBI’s criminal investigative division, Ron Hosko, said that child prostitution remains what he called a “persistent threat” to children across America.
Tuesday afternoon, the Colorado Springs Police Department said it made nine prostitution arrests during the three day operation. On Wednesday, Springs Police released their names:
Amanda Tracey Age 30 Monique Atencio Age 22 Damon McWane Age 26 (Arrested on a warrant) Kristina Roome Age 29 (Arrested twice) Stephanie Valencia Age 33 Kara Johnson Age 27 Jerome Barnes Age 33 (Arrested on a warrant) Lashondra Ray Age 20 Rachel Helen Barr Age 20
Monday afternoon, the Pueblo Police Department released the names of the ten people it arrested during the sting.
Alyssa Tinling Age 30 Arrested for prostitution Laura Abeyta Age 36 Arrested for prostitution Joanna Abraham Age 23 Arrested for prostitution Trelynn Nicholas Age 20 Arrested for prostitution Carla Escapin Age 24 Arrested for prostitution Alexandria Curtis Age 36 Arrested for prostitution Amelia Tyler Age 27 Arrested for prostitution Leon Vigil Age 75 Arrested for soliciting a prostitute Abel Gonzales Age 48 Arrested for soliciting a prostitute Ricky Lee Berry Age 42 Arrested for soliciting a prostitute
The Pueblo Police Department did not recover any children during the operation.
The FBI said the campaign has resulted in rescuing 2,700 children since 2003.
The following list denotes FBI divisions, not necessarily actual cities, where juveniles were recovered and pimps were arrested.
FBI Division Juveniles Recovered Pimps Arrested Atlanta 2 8 Baltimore 0 3 Birmingham 3 2 Boston 3 0 Charlotte 1 3 Chicago 2 1 Cincinnati 0 2 Cleveland 1 1 Columbia 1 1 Dallas 1 1 Denver 9 6 Detroit 10 18 El Paso 0 2 Houston 3 0 Jackson 1 10 Jacksonville 0 1 Kansas City 1 1 Knoxville 0 7 Las Vegas 2 1 Los Angeles 2 3 Louisville 0 3 Memphis 3 2 Miami 0 4 Milwaukee 10 0 Minneapolis 1 4 Newark 0 5 New Haven 5 1 New Orleans 6 6 New York City 0 0 Oklahoma City 3 13 Omaha 0 1 Philadelphia 2 0 Phoenix 2 0 Pittsburgh 0 2 Portland 3 4 Sacramento 2 2 St. Louis 2 0 Salt Lake City 0 0 San Antonio 1 4 San Diego 5 6 San Francisco 12 17 Seattle 3 3 Springfield 0 2 Tampa 3 0 Washington, D.C. 0 0 Total 105 150
