--- description: More than 80 children, including a 3-month-old girl, were rescued in a nationwide crackdown on child sex trafficking, authorities said. title: 3-Month-Old Among 84 Children Rescued From Sex Traffickers image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86f8a6e67812dcb0/6988e2934ee262e39d30f759/rtx3c5ly-fbi.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Crime](/tag/crime/) ## Crime Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A 3-Month-Old Girl Was Among 84 Children Rescued From Sex Traffickers ## Video: Inside a Sex Sting: Cracking Down on the "Johns" [Watch (HLS stream): Inside a Sex Sting: Cracking Down on the "Johns"](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8mDDcZpw.m3u8) (3:21)  _Published 2015-08-18. The Cook County Sheriff's Office in Illinois is encouraging law enforcement from around the country to target sex buyers as a way to reduce demand for prostitution. Here's how the sex sting works._  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 19, 2017 2:28 PM CUT  Douglas Leff (R), special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) San Juan division stands outside the offices of the anti-narcotics police division during a raid, in Vega Baja, on the outskirts of San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 19, 2017\. REUTERS/Alvin Baez - RC113E0FF7F0 Douglas Leff (R), special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) San Juan division stands outside the offices of the anti-narcotics police division during a raid, in Vega Baja, on the outskirts of San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 19, 2017\. REUTERS/Alvin Baez - RC113E0FF7F0Alvin Baez—Reuters  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 19, 2017 2:28 PM CUT More than 80 children, including a 3-month-old girl, were rescued in a nationwide crackdown on child [sex trafficking](http://time.com/4909912/congress-sex-trafficking-bill/ "undefined"), federal authorities said. As part of “Operation Cross Country XI,” the FBI arrested 120 alleged traffickers and saved 84 children who were involved in child sex trafficking operations, the agency said in a [news release](https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sandiego/news/press-releases/fbi-announces-results-of-operation-cross-country-xi "undefined") Wednesday. The victims were found after the FBI patrolled [hotels](http://time.com/3525640/sex-trafficking-victim-prostitution-hotel/ "undefined"), casinos, truck stops, street corners and websites between Oct. 12 and Oct. 15. A 3-month-old girl, the youngest of the victims, was rescued in Denver last Friday, along with a 5-year-old girl, the FBI said. Their suspected trafficker, authorities say, was a friend of the family who had offered an undercover officer sex with the girls for $600. The average age of the rescued victims was 15 years old, according to the FBI. “We at the FBI have no greater mission than to protect our nation’s children from harm,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the number of traffickers arrested—and the number of children recovered—reinforces why we need to continue to do this important work.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4989191/child-sex-trafficking-fbi/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4989191/child-sex-trafficking-fbi/"},"headline":"A 3-Month-Old Girl Was Among 84 Children Rescued From Sex Traffickers","datePublished":"2017-10-19T14:28:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T11:19:35.468Z","description":"The youngest victim was rescued in Denver, along with a 5-year-old girl","url":"https://time.com/4989191/child-sex-trafficking-fbi/","keywords":["Crime","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86f8a6e67812dcb0/6988e2934ee262e39d30f759/rtx3c5ly-fbi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86f8a6e67812dcb0/6988e2934ee262e39d30f759/rtx3c5ly-fbi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FBI letters","caption":"Douglas Leff, special agent in charge of the FBI's San Juan division stands outside the offices of the anti-narcotics police division during a raid, in Vega Baja","creditText":"Alvin Baez—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/crime/","name":"Crime"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4989191/child-sex-trafficking-fbi/","name":"A 3-Month-Old Girl Was Among 84 Children Rescued From Sex Traffickers"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Inside a Sex Sting: Cracking Down on the \"Johns\"","description":"The Cook County Sheriff's Office in Illinois is encouraging law enforcement from around the country to target sex buyers as a way to reduce demand for prostitution. 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