Six children were recovered, and one suspect was arrested in Kansas during a nationwide sex trafficking sting that took place earlier this month.
Over the course of four days, the FBI arrested 120 sex traffickers, and recovered 84 young trafficking victims.
The sting was part of Operation Cross Country, a nationwide effort focusing on underage human trafficking. It was the 11th time the FBI has conducted the effort.
The FBI’s Kansas City Division, along with state, local and federal partners, focused on 10 cities throughout Missouri and Kansas, including Olathe, Topeka and Wichita. Law enforcement officials staged operations in hotels, casinos, truck stops, on street corners and online.
Officials with the Wichita Police Department and Sedgwick County Sheriff's office assisted with the sting.
FBI director Christopher Wray said in a statement that the operation wasn’t just about taking traffickers off the street, but about offering young victims a way out of the cycle of abuse.
The average age of the victims was 15 years old; the youngest was 3 months old.
--Follow Nadya Faulx on Twitter @NadyaFaulx.
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