More Than a Dozen Children Rescued from Trafficking in Sac and San Francisco FBI Sting

Two children recovered by the Sacramento FBI division during a child sex trafficking sting, resulting in the arrest of two pimps, San Francisco division had the highest numbers in the nation.

The FBI, its local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) conducted Operation Cross Country VII, conducted a three-day enforcement action to address commercial child sex trafficking throughout the United States.

The operation included enforcement actions in 76 cities across 47 FBI divisions nationwide and led to the recovery of 105 children who were being victimized through prostitution. Additionally, 150 pimps were arrested on state and federal charges. Of that, Sacramento accounted for two recovered children and two arrested pimps. San Francisco accounted for the most in the nation, rescuing 12 children and arresting 18 pimps.

“Commercial exploitation of children is a systematic and highly abusive environment,” explained Gina Swankie, Sacramento FBI Public Affairs Specialist, “a positive side, the FBI launched the Innocence Lost initiative in 2003 to combat this heinous crime, enabling multi-jurisdictional approach to investigation.”

The Sacramento division recovered a 15 year-old from Fresno and a 14 year-old from Sacramento, arresting the associated pimps. A federal grand jury indicted Shanntaye Ebony Hicks, 23, of Sacramento, with one count of sex trafficking of a minor and two counts of transportation of a minor. According to the indictment, between March 4, 2013 and March 23, 2013, Hicks maintained a minor female victim by means of force, threats of force, fraud, and coercio, to engage in a commercial sex act. The indictment also alleges that on two occasions in March, Hicks transported this minor female to Reno and Las Vegas with the intent that the minor female engage in prostitution.

“Victimization is heartbreaking, it can happen to any child anywhere,” says Swankie, “We are constantly working to save child victims commercial exploitation.”

The UN.GIF explains that human traffickers prey on people who are poor, isolated and weak. Issues such as disempowerment, social exclusion and economic vulnerability are the result of policies and practices that marginalize entire groups of people and make them particularly vulnerable to being trafficked. Every stage of the trafficking process can involve physical, sexual and psychological abuse and violence, deprivation and torture, the forced use of substances, manipulation, economic exploitation and abusive working and living conditions. Unlike most other violent crime, trafficking usually involves prolonged and repeated trauma.

To date, the FBI and its task force partners have recovered more than 2,700 children from the streets. The investigations and subsequent 1,350 convictions have resulted in lengthy sentences, including 10 life terms and the seizure of more than $3.1 million in assets.