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November 21, 2009
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Ear to the Ground

52 Children Rescued in Countrywide Prostitution Crackdown

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Posted on Oct 26, 2009
Innocence Lost arrest
fbi.gov

An FBI agent escorts an adult suspect arrested in October of 2008 during Operation Cross Country II.

Federal authorities nabbed nearly 700 people—60 pimps among them—in a three-day nationwide sting operation targeting child prostitution. The sting, dubbed Operation Cross Country, saved 52 children from further sexual exploitation at the hands of adults.  —KA

Los Angeles Times:

Authorities say the youngest victim was 10 years old.

In Southern California, two children were rescued in Riverside, and four adults were arrested, said Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman. Four suspected customers of child prostitutes were arrested in Orange County.

“It is repugnant that children in these times could be subjected to the great pain, suffering, and indignity of being forced into sexual slavery for someone else’s profit,” Asst. Atty. Gen. Lanny A. Breuer said in a statement. He added that the latest raids show that “the scourge of child prostitution still exists on the streets of our cities.”

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By Whinestein, October 30 at 12:27 pm #

Cheers to melpol’s comment. People blame the pimps on the street and forget the original pimp who is often the mother. Thanks, melpol, for saying so.
Remember the Susan Leigh Vaughan Smith case where she killed her children and blamed “a black man”? Police know what’s going on but the Moral Majority doesn’t want us to look at the truth about ourselves and deal with that when we could blame away and grant them further political/financial power.
By the way, Susan Smith’s father was one of those “family values” Republican Party leaders and he molested her as a child and continued having sex with her into her adulthood.

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By dprosenthal, October 27 at 1:51 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

This is so much more important than health care or global warming - either our elected officials are being paid off or they can’t be bothered with an issue that doesn’t garner votes!
  There should be manditory, long term prison sentences for the pimps and anyone who aids them AND for their sick customers. In the meantime, at least publish their names in every available news outlet.
  Punishment should also include enormous fines and/or confiscation of property, the funds to be used for therapy and decent family care for these poor children. They are as much a part of our future as our own carefully nurtured and protected babies.

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By melpol, October 27 at 1:44 pm #

Increased payments to welfare mothers will help curtail child prostitution. Poverty
can make the best of women prostitute themselves and their children. A visit to
the slums of our nation will prove this to be true.

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By Thong-girl, October 27 at 1:31 pm #

You have to wonder why those who are handling this are keeping names and faces out of the press.  Perhaps, it has been to get convictions against the men and women who rang this ring.  It would be smart of Truthdig to follow this up and keep this audience posted on the outcome of these charges.  I fear these people will be out on the street again soon.

Don’t ever forget, the roots of all misogyny are deeply rooted in the religions most of the US worships.  Our culture will have to do lots more than bust those responsible to stop the epidemic of sexual abuse against children.  We will all have to come to terms with all the evils that led us there.

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By NYCartist, October 27 at 1:07 pm #

Why have none of the articles pointed out that the customers are men?

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By melpol, October 27 at 12:03 pm #

Greedy mothers are behind child prostitution. They must be hunted down and
imprisoned. Police informers should be given bonuses for information that leads
to their arrest.  P-mps have claimed that they are too proud to accept welfare
payments.  But it is no excuse for them P-imping their daughters.

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By Leefeller, October 27 at 11:51 am #

Humankind preforms many despicable acts upon the world, this is only one.

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By socalcde, October 27 at 11:39 am #

I can not understand why surgical castration for repeat child sex offenders is controversial.

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By ender, October 27 at 9:36 am #

This has gone on for years.  The sick part is that local law enforcement knows about it, knows the pimps, knows where they are, and it took a federal task force to make anything happen.  Local law has looked at these kids as lost and refused to do anything.  Call me a liberal whacko, but nothing like this ever did or would happen on a federal level with Dick Bush running the country.  If Pres. Obama could get his department heads in place past the Repub committee members, running our beauracracies, we would see more of what gov’t can do RIGHT.

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By Howie Bledsoe, October 27 at 6:48 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Oh, just wait, this is just the beginning.  California is in deep recession, and this is what happens when bad people get despirate.  When it becomes a full fledged depression, this will be commonplace.

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By lOst_sOuls_rembrd, October 26 at 11:50 pm #

so much lost.

I pray for the survivors of this evilness.  Orange County?  It’s a cess pool.  Greed, self centeredness and ignorance…...

I used to ride my bicycle through the farm lands in OC.  I’d wave to the farmers.  Blossoms of orange and lemon trees permeated the summer nights. 

Good God save us all.

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By Outraged, October 26 at 9:55 pm #

Quote: “Most of the recovered children have been girls, who usually become victims of traffickers around age 12, Allen said.

He estimated that 100,000 children are still involved in sex trafficking in the U.S., adding that the problem is growing partly because of the recession.”

When I read things like this, honestly… we do not have words in the English language to describe it.  It is torture.

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