On behalf of more than two dozen partner agencies, Assistant Director in Charge Kristi K. Johnson of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office announced the results of “Operation Lost Angels,” an initiative which began on January 11 and recently culminated in the recovery of 33 children.
During January — Human Trafficking Awareness Month — the FBI worked with the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and more than two dozen law enforcement and non-governmental partners to identify, locate, and recover missing children, particularly those who have been or were suspected of being sexually exploited and/or trafficked.
Of the 33 children recovered in Operation Lost Angels, eight were being sexually exploited at the time of recovery. Two were recovered multiple times during the operation while on the “track,” a common term used to describe a known location for commercial sex trafficking.