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More than than 45 pimps and their associates were arrested, “some of whom claimed to have traveled to New Jersey from other states specifically for the purpose of prostituting women and children at the Super Bowl,” the bureau said in a news release.
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RELATED: Free online sexual abuse identification and prevention training is being offered to all state residents as part of a “proactive approach to eradicating this abominable crime in the state of New Jersey,” Acting State Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced today. READ MORE ….
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Several of the recoveries and many of the arrests were made by agents and officers posing as johns, responding to ads on CraigsList, BackPage and elsewhere that promised romantic rendezvous at New Jersey casinos, hotels and homes with “just legal” dates, federal authorities said.
“High-profile special events, which draw large crowds, have become lucrative opportunities for child prostitution criminal enterprises,” said Ron Hosko, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.
Victim specialists from the FBI gave food, clothing, shelter and health referrals to 70 women and children determined to be sex-trafficking victims.
“As with Super Bowl security, the collaboration of federal, state and local law enforcement in the operations targeting commercial child sex trafficking was unprecedented,” said Aaron T. Ford, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Newark Division.
Federal, state and local officials spent several months leading up to the Seattle Seahawks’ 43-8 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford staging workshops and seminars to help law enforcement — and even hotel employees — spot and address child exploitation and human trafficking.
“It’s easy to focus on this issue in light of a high-profile event,” said Michael Harpster, chief of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section. “But the sad reality is: This is a problem we see every day in communities across the country.”
From the bureau:
“The FBI’s Super Bowl operation efforts are part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative that was established in 2003 by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, in partnership with the Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, to address the growing problem of child prostitution.
“To date, the FBI and its task force partners have recovered more than 3,100 children. The investigations and subsequent 1,400 convictions have resulted in lengthy sentences, including 11 life terms and the seizure of more than $3.1 million in assets.
“The Newark FBI worked closely with the New Jersey State Police in executing these operations, and would like to thank the following federal, state, and local law enforcement partners who participated in these Super Bowl enforcement efforts:
“Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations
New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice
New Jersey Department of Child Protection and Permanency
New Jersey Department of Human Services Police Force
Atlantic County Prosecutors Office
Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office
Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office
Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office
Essex County Prosecutor’s Office
Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office
Morris County Prosecutor’s Office
Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office
Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office
Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office
Bergen County Sheriff’s Office
Hudson County Sheriff’s Office
Absecon Police Department
Bridgewater Police Department
Cape May County Prosecutors Office
Clifton Police Department
Edison Police Department
Egg Harbor Township Police Department
Fairfield Police Department
Hopatcong Police Department
Little Ferry Police Department
Mount Arlington Police Department
Newark Police Department
New Brunswick Police Department
Ocean City Police Department
Paramus Police Department
Parsippany Police Department
Paterson Police Department,
Pequannock Township Police Department
Rochelle Park Police Department
Roxbury Police Department
Secaucus Police Department
Somers Point Police Department
South Hackensack Police Department
South Plainfield Police Department
Totowa Police Department
Wayne Police Department
Newark FBI National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
KlaasKids Foundation
IST Research
Polaris Project”
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