FBI partners with Arkansas agencies to fight trafficking
LITTLE ROCK — An FBIled multi-agency task force in Northwest Arkansas nabbed four men as part of the nationwide Operation Cross Country, which focused on identifying and locating victims of sex trafficking.
The two-week investigation, which started Aug. 4, resulted in the arrest of one alleged human trafficker and the apprehension of three individuals who allegedly traveled or intended to travel to Northwest Arkansas from other states and cities in separate attempts to engage in unlawful sexual conduct with children.
The names of the suspects and trafficking victims and other details are not being released because the cases remain active, said Connor Hagan, a spokesman for the FBI’s Little Rock field office.
The men arrested will be subject to further investigations, which could led to additional arrests, the FBI said Monday in a news release.
“Human trafficking is among the most heinous crimes the FBI encounters,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Unfortunately, such crimes — against both adults and children — are far more common than most people realize. As we did in this operation, the FBI and our partners will continue to find and arrest traffickers, identify and help victims, and raise awareness of the exploitation of our most vulnerable populations.”
In this 13th nationwide trafficking campaign, the FBI and its law enforcement partners identified and located 84 minor victims and rescued 37 actively missing children.
The task force also located 141 adult victims of human trafficking and identified or arrested 85 suspects with child sexual exploitation and human trafficking offenses.
The average age of victims located in similar operations is approximately 16, while the youngest victim discovered during this operation was 11 years old.
As part of Operation Cross Country, FBI special agents, intelligence analysts, victim specialists, and child adolescent forensic interviewers— working in conjunction with over 200 local, state, and federal partners and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children — conducted 391 operations.
Hagan said enforcement in Arkansas centered on the northwest part of the state because the FBI’s River Valley Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking
Task Force is located there.
“As such, we were able to deploy more law enforcement resources in that part of the state for this particular operation,” Hagan said by email. “However, FBI agents continuously investigate human trafficking and child exploitation throughout Arkansas.”
Arkansas agencies that assisted with the investigation include Baxter County Sheriff’s Office, Benton County Sheriff’s Office, Bentonville Police Department, Greenland School District Police Department, Lakeview Police Department, Rogers Police Department, Siloam Springs Police Department, and the University of Arkansas Police Department.
“The success of Operation Cross Country in Arkansas this year is a direct result of the enduring partnerships we share with local and state law enforcement,” said FBI Little Rock Special Agent in Charge James A. Dawson. “Without our partners, four alleged predators may have avoided justice and two human trafficking victims may not have received the assistance they desperately needed. We will continue to work with Arkansas police agencies to combat human trafficking and child exploitation throughout our state.”