FBI rescues 16 teenagers, arrests 45 'pimps' during Super Bowl prostitution sting, List: States where rape is most common

FBI rescues 16 teenagers, arrests 45 'pimps' during Super Bowl prostitution sting
By James Queally/The Star-Ledger
February 04, 2014
Federal investigators arrested 45 pimps and recovered 16 juveniles during a months-long investigation into sex trafficking at the Super Bowl that spanned New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, officials said today.

All of the juveniles were between the ages of 13 and 17, and six of the rescued teens were from New Jersey, according to Aaron T. Ford, the Special Agent In Charge of Newark's FBI division. Several international victims of human trafficking were also recovered during the operation, investigators said.

“High-profile special events that draw large crowds have become lucrative opportunities for child prostitution criminal enterprises,” said Ron Hosko, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI and our partners remain committed to stopping this cycle of victimization and putting those who try to profit from this type of criminal activity behind bars.” ....

Ford said the initiative was part of the FBI's Innocence Lost National Initiative, which aims to curb child prostitution. To date, federal investigators have rescued more than 3,000 children from sex trafficking rings and convicted over 1,400 suspects of prostitution related crimes....
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/02/fbi_rescues_16_teenagers_arrests_45_pimps_during_super_bowl_prostitution_takedown.html


Federal sting leads to rescue of 25 child prostitutes, arrest of 27 suspects in N.J.
By James Queally/The Star-Ledger
February 04, 2014
The advertisements were scattered around websites like CraigsList and BackPage, promising romantic rendezvous at New Jersey casinos, hotels and homes with women who were “just legal.”

For all the pretty phrasing, federal investigators say they knew exactly what the people behind each post were offering — child prostitutes, some as young as 13-years-old.

A 10-month investigation that targeted sex trafficking at Super Bowl XLVIII resulted in the rescue of 25 child prostitutes and the arrest of roughly 45 “pimps” and others associated with exploiting teens as sex workers in New Jersey, federal investigators said today.

“High-profile special events, which draw large crowds, have become lucrative opportunities for child prostitution criminal enterprises,” Ron Hosko, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, said in a statement. “The FBI and our partners remain committed to stopping this cycle of victimization and putting those who try to profit from this type of criminal activity behind bars.”

Twenty-five child prostitutes between the ages of 13 and 17 were rescued in New Jersey as part of the operation, which began in April, said Special Agent Barbara Woodruff, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Newark Division....
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/02/federal_sting_leads_to_rescue_of_25_child_prostitutes_arrest_of_27_in_nj.html


List: States where rape is most common
By John D. Sutter, CNN
Tue February 4, 2014
Juneau, Alaska (CNN) -- "Alaska has an epidemic," Gov. Sean Parnell told me. It's not bear attacks or deadly roads. It's rape and violence against women.

Reported rape is more common in Alaska than any other state, according to 2012 FBI crime estimates. The per capita rate is about three times the national average.

In America's "Last Frontier" state, nearly 80 incidences of rape are reported per 100,000 people, the data show. Nationally, the rate is 27 per 100,000....

The FBI cautions against comparing crime rates across states without considering factors like demographics, climate, culture, economics and law enforcement capabilities. And rape is notoriously underreported nationwide, so take these numbers as estimates. The FBI only counts reported incidents of rape....
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/03/opinion/sutter-alaska-rape-list/index.html