Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: The FBI, its law enforcement partners and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children rescue 79 child victims of prostitution and arrest more than 100 pimps responsible for exploiting them.

Kevin Perkins: Child trafficking is a violent and deplorable crime.

Mollie Halpern: I’m Mollie Halpern of the Bureau and this is FBI, This Week. The three day sting, called Operation Cross Country, took place in 57 cities across the nation. Kevin Perkins, the acting executive assistant director for the Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch says the pimps are members of criminal enterprises.

Perkins: These perpetrators are increasingly recruiting children through social media including social networking sites, chat lines, and text messaging.

Halpern: Ernie Allen is the president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children…

Allen: Average people can help put an end to it so our message is if you see it, if you suspect it, if know about it, report it to law enforcement and report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Halpern: For more information on the Innocence Lost National Initiative visit www.fbi.gov.