While the focus of North Texas was on the NCAA Final Four this past weekend, the Dallas Police Department Child Exploitation Unit, in partnership with the FBI and 17 other law enforcement agencies, carried out an operation to combat commercial child sex trafficking throughout the Metroplex.

During the course of this operation, law enforcement rescued 5 juvenile and 65 adult victims of the sex trade. Social services, including food and clothing were distributed to the victims and referrals for health care and shelters were also offered. Four of the child victims were recovered in Dallas.

The task force officers were able to arrest 4 pimps, 18 johns and three offenders who solicited children for sex through the Internet. Officers also made other prostitution related arrests. Of this initiative, Chief David Brown said, “The Dallas Police Department Crimes Against Children Unit and its High Risk Victims Squad has developed a victim centered model for finding children who are enticed into sex trafficking. The Dallas Police Department worked with our federal, state and local partners over the last four days to find these victims and find the offenders who are responsible for trafficking them.”

For more information on joint operations targeting domestic sex trafficking, please visit http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/vc_majorthefts/cac/innocencelost .