Six Rescued, Seven Arrested Locally in Multi-Agency Operation Targeting Child Prostitution

HAYWARD, CA—The FBI and its local and state law enforcement partners announced the recovery of six children, who were being victimized through prostitution, and the arrest of seven individuals, commonly referred to as pimps, who exploited them throughout the Bay Area on state and local charges as a part of Operation Cross Country.

The operation is a three-day national enforcement action that is coordinated through the Innocence Lost National Initiative, which is a partnership between the FBI, local law enforcement partners, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that targets child prostitution.

The San Francisco Division of the FBI and multiple local and state law enforcement participated in the operation from June 20 through June 23 in several cities in the Bay Area.

Nationwide, 79 children were rescued and 104 pimps were arrested for various state and local charges. The efforts in the Bay Area account for 7.6 percent of the rescued children and 6.7 percent of the total number of pimps arrested throughout 57 participating cities.

The origins of this nationwide effort started in northern California over seven years ago when the Bay Area Innocence Lost Working Group sought to target the growing problem of child prostitution by conducting a joint, multi-day operation to rescue children and to arrest those who exploited them.

The following agencies were a part of the operation: Alameda County Probation Department, Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, Alameda County Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Task Force, Alameda County Vice Enforcement Task Force (ACVET), California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Division of Adult Parole Operations, Concord Police Department, Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, Petaluma Police Department, Richmond Police Department, San Francisco Police Department, San Jose Police Department, San Rafael Police Department, Oakland Housing Authority Police Department, Oakland Police Department, and the Oakland Unified School District Police Department.

ACVET consists of the following agencies: Albany Police Department, California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, California Highway Patrol, Emeryville Police Department, Fremont Police Department, Hayward Police Department, Livermore Police Department, Newark Police Department, and the University of California Berkeley Police Department.

Members of the media should call FBI Public Affairs Specialist Julianne Sohn or Peter Lee at 415-553-7450.