The FBI Norfolk Field Office, working with its state and local partners, conducted an undercover operation in July aimed at catching child predators. Five individuals in Virginia Beach were arrested during the nationwide enforcement campaign, "Operation Cross Country."
The FBI-led nationwide initiative, in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), focuses on identifying and locating victims of sex trafficking and investigating and arresting individuals and criminal enterprises involved in both child sex and human trafficking. Law enforcement agencies conducted targeted operations to identify and apprehend offenders, dismantling criminal networks and preventing further harm to victims.
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During the campaign, the FBI helped to locate over 200 victims of sex trafficking nationwide, as well as help identify and arrest 126 individuals for child sexual exploitation or human trafficking offenses. Locally, FBI agents from the Norfolk Division worked with the Virginia Beach Police Department, Chesapeake Police Department, and NCIS to identify the five individuals arrested in FBI Norfolk's area of responsibility.
"Child exploitation is one of the most horrific crimes the FBI investigates, and that's why we pursue these bad actors so aggressively," said Brian Dugan, FBI Norfolk special agent in charge. "Each year the FBI conducts Operation Cross Country, it helps to send a powerful message that exploiting society's most vulnerable will not be tolerated, and with the help of our partners, these offenders will be caught."
The FBI remains steadfast in its commitment to combating child exploitation and human trafficking. Operation Cross Country is just one facet of the Bureau's ongoing efforts to protect the most vulnerable members of society and hold offenders accountable. The FBI encourages continued vigilance, cooperation, and reporting from the public to help identify and recover victims and bring perpetrators to justice.
