700 Arrests in Child-Prostitution Sting

In a sweeping three-day sting operation, federal officials have arrested nearly 700 people known to be involved with child prostitution. The arrested included pimps, madams, and former suspected customers of child prostitutes. The youngest victim to be rescued was 10 years old, according to authorities. The operation, which is part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative, involved almost 1,600 agents and officials and spanned 36 cities. Running since 2003, the initiative has rescued nearly 900 children and led to 510 convictions. The president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which was involved with the undertaking, estimates that 100,000 children are still involved in sex trafficking in the United States, and that number is growing in part because of the recession.