Some Child Sex Trafficking Victims 'Rescued' by Recent FBI Sting Could End up in Jail

Underage sex-trafficking victims are often placed in jail to prevent them from returning to the trade.

When the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted a nationwide sweep in late July to fight child prostitution, the agency boasted that "Operation Cross Country" had successfully rescued 105 sexually exploited children.

But the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which partnered with law enforcement for the sweep, says that some of those rescued children may now end up behind bars.

"If there is nowhere to hold them, and nowhere safe for them to go, law enforcement has no alternative," says Staca Shehan, the director of the case analysis division at the center. "If they aren't placed in a juvenile detention facility, the child could run back to the prostitution scenario."

To avoid this, police charge the children with prostitution and place them in a detention facility until housing elsewhere becomes available, according to Shehan.  (more...)

Some Child Sex Trafficking Victims 'Rescued' by Recent FBI Sting Could End up in Jail