Over the course of 72 hours members of the Clearwater Area Human Trafficking Task Force rescued four juveniles and arrested 35 adults. The Tampa Bay sting was part of a countrywide initiative, the FBI’s Innocence Lost National Initiative, that included enforcement actions in 40 cities and led to the recovery of 69 children who were being victimized through prostitution. The Clearwater Area Human Trafficking Task Force investigates and arrests those who prey on children, including human traffickers, international sex tourists, Internet pornographers, and foreign-national predators whose crimes make them deportable.
Since the spring of 2003 the FBI’s Innocence Lost Task Forces and Working Groups have recovered over 1,200 children from the streets.
The public is encouraged to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.