Berlin Hotels Searched in FBI Underage Sex Sting

By Paul Singley

The FBI has recovered five juveniles in Connecticut, including one from Groton, who are victims of sex trafficking operations.

In the past three days, the FBI, its local, state and federal law enforcement partners and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recovered 105 children victims and arrested 150 pimps during a three-day recovery effort called Operation Cross Country VII, the FBI stated in a news release. 

The victims in Connecticut came from Waterbury, Milford and Groton, according to the New Haven Register, which also reported that hotels in Berlin were also searched. Details were not available about what hotels were raided, and more information is expected to be released following the completion of the investigation.

“Child prostitution remains a persistent threat to children across America,” said Ron Hosko, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, in the news release. “This operation serves as a reminder that these abhorrent crimes can happen anywhere, and the FBI remains committed to stopping this cycle of victimization and holding the criminals who profit from this exploitation accountable.”

Operation Cross Country is part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative that was established in 2003 by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, in partnership with the Department of Justice and NCMEC, to address the growing problem of child prostitution, the news release states.

“Operation Cross Country demonstrates just how many of America’s children are being sold for sex every day, many on the Internet,” John Ryan, CEO of NCMEC, said in the release. “We’re honored and proud to partner with the FBI, which has taken the lead in tackling this escalating problem.”

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, according to the release.

For more information:

Read the full press release here.

See a video about sex trafficking from the FBI attached to this story above.