By The newspaper
03 Jul 2024, 01:28 AM EDT
Authorities in New York located 41 “critical children” – including some forced by adults into criminal activity or sex trafficking, or frequent runaways – during “Operation We Will Find You 2,” which lasted more than a month and concluded Monday, sheriff’s deputies said.
The minors, some of whom suffered from mental illness, were found in random apartments, others camping out in stairwells or living on city streets, authorities said.
Three unidentified people were arrested – a registered sex offender and two others who were wanted on charges including robbery and kidnapping – in a five-week joint operation across New York City led by the U.S. Marshals Service, NYPD and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the agency reported. New York Post. One of the suspects was handcuffed after landing on an international flight.
Nationwide, the six-week operation resulted in the discovery of 200 minors who had been reported missing, including endangered runaways and some who had been abducted.
We are committed to leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to bring missing children home safely.”
In NYC, four cases involving alleged assault, rape, sex trafficking and failure to register as a sex offender have been referred to law enforcement agencies for further investigation, sheriff’s deputies said.
“We are committed to leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to bring missing children home safely,” Ralph Sozio, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. “Through the collaboration of our law enforcement partners and community engagement, we aim to make a significant impact in protecting our children and bringing to justice anyone who harms them.”
While some of the rescued children previously lived in homeless shelters or foster homes in the city, others were from out of state and ended up in NYC.
“There is an epidemic of missing children in the United States,” Vincent DeMarco, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “Missing children must be reported and found quickly because they are vulnerable to sex trafficking and exploitation and can suffer unimaginable harm.”
The operation involved marshals from the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, along with members of the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, special agents from HSI New York’s Human Trafficking Task Force, as well as detectives from the New York Police Department. The U.S. Marshals Service says it has recovered more than 2,000 missing children since 2005.
In January, New York City Police Department (NYPD) Officer Angad Beharry and Gisianet Christina Chirinos Viloria were arrested and charged on suspicion of sexually exploiting a 9-year-old girl. Also that month, an elderly Westchester County (NY) resident was indicted on federal charges of sexually exploiting minors using the Snapchat app.
- Girl kidnapped for sex trafficking through social media managed to escape 6 months later in New York
In another similar case, in October four members of a Hispanic family living in Queens (NYC) were found guilty in Brooklyn of running a years-long prostitution operation involving minors brought from Mexico and of bribing a police officer. One of the victims is the niece of the group’s leader.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has been warning since 2020 about an increase in cases of child pornography due to the increased time spent online by adults and children using social media.
Mexican-born Dulce María Alavez has been missing for more than four years. She was last seen in a park in New Jersey when she was 5 years old in September 2019. A $75,000 reward and the work of the FBI – one of the most advanced investigative forces in the world – have not been enough to find her or at least find out what happened to her. The FBI continues to ask anyone with information to write to the organization’s website or call police at 911, 856-451-0033 or 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
If you are a victim or suspect that someone is being abused, especially if you are a minor or an elderly person:
I looked for help
- Call 911, 988 or (800)-942-6906.
- Text “WELL” to 65173.
- Check information at https://nycwell.cityofnewyork.us/es/ and www.988lineadevida.org