SEATTLE (KOMO) -- The FBI has rescued ten suspected teenage prostitutes, some as young as 13, as a part of a nationwide sting to remove kids from the illegal sex trade and punish their accused pimps.Agents arrested three suspected pimps in Seattle, Kent and Tacoma. The men are accused of recruiting girls in order to turn a profit.
"I think it's a big problem; it's a heinous crime, to be More..perfectly honest with you," said Seattle FBI spokesperson Robbie Burroughs. "That some body would target and recruit children to be involved in prostitution."
Once recruited, the teens are put on a circuit that takes them out of state to Oregon, California, Nevada and British Columbia, federal agents said.
Over a three-night initiative called Operation Cross Country, federal agents working with local law enforcement rescued more than 45 suspected teen prostitutes and arrested more than 50 alleged pimps, according to preliminary bureau data.
The teenage prostitutes found in the investigation ranged in age from 13 to 17.
Several local youth counseling agencies weren't surprised by the discovery of suspected teen prostitutes in the area. Counselors said many vulnerable teens view prostitution as a way of survival.
"I think for many of them, they don't feel like they have other resources," said Debra Halela of Youth Eastside Services in Bellevue. “They may be homeless, they may be runaways, they don't have the support of family.”
Youth Eastside Services offers counseling to teenage prostitutes, as well as drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
“Locally, we experience teens who are really desperate for a way to survive and a way to support themselves. And unfortunately, many of them turn to this option,” said Halela.
According to the FBI, the life expectancy of those who stay in prostitution is seven years.
Historically, federal authorities rarely play a role in anti-prostitution crackdowns, but the FBI is becoming more involved as it tries to rescue children caught up in the business.
"The goal is to recover kids. We consider them the child victims of prostitution," said FBI Deputy Assistant Director Daniel Roberts.
"Unfortunately, the vast majority of these kids are what they term 'throw-away kids,' with no family support, no friends. They're kids that nobody wants, they're loners. Many are runaways," Roberts said.
Most of the children are put into the custody of local child protection agencies.
Agents in cities from Miami to Chicago to Anchorage, Alaska took part in the operation.
The federal effort is also designed to hit pimps with much tougher prison sentences than they would likely get in state criminal courts.
Government prosecutors look to bring racketeering charges or conspiracy charges that can result in decades of jail time.
"Some of these networks of pimps and their organizations are very sophisticated, they're interstate," said Roberts, requiring wiretaps and undercover sting operations to bring charges.
The weekend's roundup marked the third such Operation Cross Country, and is part of a broader federal program launched in 2003 to crack down on the sexual exploitation of children.
