Police in Arizona have arrested 16 suspects in connection with child sex crimes and human trafficking following an undercover operation, officials said.
The joint sting operation, known as “Operation Tangled Web,” was conducted by the Phoenix police Human Exploitation and Trafficking unit alongside Mesa, Tempe, and Phoenix police departments, FBI, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and Phoenix police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit.
During the sting, undercover detectives placed advertisements on websites that are “commonly sought out by suspects seeking illegal sex acts” involving children. They then engaged in conversations with the suspects for weeks.
‘Continuous Effort’ By Law Enforcement
The accused range from 19 to 51 years of age. They face multiple charges including child sex trafficking, attempted sexual conduct with a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, failing to register as a sex offender, and more.“The Phoenix Police Department routinely conducts operations of this type with our local, state, and federal partners in a continuous effort to reduce the demand that fuels child sex trafficking and the exploitation of children in our community,” police said. “The suspects solicited various sex acts from minors and were arrested.”
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH), the organization received 608 contacts, either via phone calls, texts, online chats, emails, and webforms in 2020 regarding human trafficking, of which 193 cases were reported.
Across the entire United States in 2020, NHTH received 51,667 contacts regarding human trafficking, of which 10,583 were reported and 2,488 involved minors. California had the highest number of cases reported, according to NHTH, followed by Texas and Florida.
The nonprofit organization noted that CSAM can cause victims continuing stress for decades after the sexual abuse ends, which is why it is important that they are connected with mental health and legal professionals.
