In 2000, the President Clinton signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, establishing legal basis for protecting victims of human trafficking and prosecuting trafficking victims. Since then, the United States has been leading and encouraging other governments of the world to establish legal infrastructure to protect the victims, prevent the crimes, and prosecute the criminals of human trafficking and modern day slavery.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation together with the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children formed the Innocence Lost National Initiative in 2003. The purpose for the initiative was to concentrate on the problem of domestic trafficking of children in the United States for sexual exploitation. Since then, thirty eight task forces and working groups have been developed at federal, state, and local levels of law enforcement; 1,038 children have been rescued; 571 criminals have been convicted and sentenced to multiple 25-year-to-life terms.

Several sting operations have been conducted through the years to rescue the victims and to catch the trafficking criminals. The latest one, Cross Country Operation IV, took place in October of 2009. It had been conducted in 36 cities, involving 30 FBI divisions and 112 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies throughout the country. As a result, fifty two children had been rescued from sexual exploitation. Additionally, 700 individuals, including 60 pimps, were charged with crimes of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of children under state and local laws.

Child trafficking for a purpose of sexual exploitation takes place in this country, in our cities and neighborhoods, right in our backyards. Our children are targeted, lured, abused, and sexually exploited. While the FBI together with other departments and organizations is cracking down in the trafficking criminals, we need to protect and educate our children. The FBI Innocence Lost webpage provides resources for parents and communities on how to prevent child trafficking, what to do and how to report when children are involved in crimes of sexual exploitation. Additionally, there is a national and state sex offender registry list for parents and caretakers to be aware and able to protect the children.

As a proverb says, it takes a village to raise a child. It also takes many different venues to stop domestic child sex trafficking. Do not turn your head the other way when you see something suspicious. Do not hesitate to contact local law enforcement and FBI offices. And protect the children in your life.

Sources Used:

http://www.fbi.gov/innolost/innolost.htm