Disclaimer: This article may contain the personal views and opinions of the author.
Operation “Back to Skool” was an undercover operation that targeted those individuals looking to engage in child sex crimes and human trafficking.
It took place in Arizona with cooperation from a number of different agencies and also involved Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The Surprise Police Department Criminal Investigations Division took the lead and along with the Scottsdale, Glendale, Goodyear, and the Peoria Police Departments, the United States Marshals Service, and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, they worked to take down child predators.
The operation resulted in 21 arrests. The suspects solicited and/or brokered deals for numerous sex acts with children.
As part of the undercover operation, detectives put ads on websites where these predators go to find children to exploit. The “children” they are seeking turned out to be undercover detectives.
This type of operation is common in law enforcement’s effort to rid our communities of the type of people who do things like this to our most vulnerable. The exploitation of children and child sex trafficking is a stain on our society.
In a recent Facebook post, the department stated: “Operations of this type are a part of the Surprise Police Department’s continuous effort to reduce the demand that fuels child sex trafficking and exploitation of children in our community.”
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s website states: “Of the more than 25,000 cases of children reported missing to NCMEC in 2021 who had run away, 1 in 6 were likely victims of child sex trafficking.”
The statistic increases to one in five for children when it involves runaways from social services like foster care.
According to the NCMEC, “Children who have run away are disproportionately targeted by traffickers and buyers, who prey upon vulnerabilities and a child’s need for basic resources like food and a place to live.”
Unfortunately, kids in this predicament unknowingly fall prey to predators who offer to fulfill those basic needs.
The Department of Homeland Security reports that the average age of girls forced into the commercial sex trade is between 12 and 14; and for boys, it’s 11 to 13.
When we think of sex trafficking, we tend to think of it as a problem that begins outside of the borders of the U.S., but that is simply not the case. Americans are being trafficked by other Americans.
According to the latest data, there were more than 10,000 human trafficking cases reported in 2020. The state with the most reported cases was California. Texas, Florida, New York, and Georgia rounded out the top five.
If you have information on a suspected child predator or see any suspicious activity involving a child, HSI encourages you to call its toll-free tip line at 1-866-347-2423.
You can also complete the online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by trained investigators. From outside the United States and Canada, callers should use this number: 802-872-6199; hearing impaired users may call TTY 802-872-6196.
Now cut off their offending member and see how far they can run.