Dark Web Leads To Dark Deals For Children
February 14, 2019
Illegal drugs and arms trafficking are some of the worst crimes on the Dark Web, but the most abhorrent crime is sex trafficking. A large majority of sex trafficking victims are women, but children (boys and girls) are also in the victim pool. The New York Post reports how over “123 Missing Children Found In Michigan During Sex Trafficking Operation.” On September 26, 2018, Michigan law enforcement and Operation MISafeKid recovered over one hundred missing children.
Michigan law enforcement were investigating 301 open missing children cases of which 123 were found. All the recovered children were interviewed about if they were sexually abused or trafficked in any fashion. Of the 123 children, only three of them reported being possibly victimized. The sting also revealed leads to missing children in Texas and Minnesota. It is horrible that the most vulnerable humans are sold for sex, but authorities are all the more dedicated to saving them.
“ ‘The message to the missing children and their families that we wish to convey is that we will never stop looking for you,’ the US Marshals Service said. Several agencies were involved in the operation including the US Marshals Service, Michigan State Police, Detroit Police Department, Wayne County local law enforcement, as well as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General.”
It takes many law enforcement agencies to track, investigate, and prosecute the sex trafficking ringleaders. It is hard to imagine how these ringleaders kept their victims in line, because children are loud by nature. How much intimidation did they use to maintain a low profile?
Whitney Grace, February 14, 2018