Authorities have rescued nearly three dozen missing children in Southern California during a human trafficking investigation, the FBI said.
Of the 33 children rescued in “Operation Lost Angels,” eight were sexually exploited, according to the FBI, when authorities came in to rescue them.
Two of the children had previously been rescued during the operation, the agency said Friday.
“It is not uncommon for victims who are rescued to return voluntarily or by force, fraud, or coercion to commercial sex trafficking,” the FBI said.
“This damaging cycle highlights the challenges victims and law enforcement officers face when trying to prevent victims from returning to a situation of abuse,” the service continued. “Victims may not identify themselves as human trafficking or even realize they are being trafficked.”
A suspected human trafficker was arrested and multiple investigations were launched following the probe.
The FBI added, “Some of the underage victims were arrested for probation violations, theft, or other crimes,” and “one child was the victim of a non-custodial parental abduction.”
The joint investigation, which included two dozen law enforcement agencies and was led by the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, began Jan. 11, the FBI said in a statement.
In 2020, the FBI conducted 664 human trafficking investigations across the country, leading to the arrests of 473 human traffickers.