MIAMI — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier reported the rescue of 163 minors missing or at risk of trafficking and other abuse during Operation “State Shield” and the arrest of three suspects in a massive international operation that extended to more than a dozen countries, including Colombia, Spain and Mexico.
The ‘State Shield’ operation lasted five days in which authorities identified, located and recovered children between the ages of 2 months and 17 years, many of whom “had suffered varying degrees of abuse, neglect, exploitation or exposure to other criminal activities, including human trafficking,” the office of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier reported in a statement on Tuesday.
In addition to the 163 children rescued in Florida, the statement also noted that the operation had spread to other regions of the United States such as Alabama, California, Ohio, New York, North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Tennessee.
Rescues were also carried out in Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominica, Finland, Ghana, Guatemala, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Spain and Taiwan, although the office did not specify the number.
“The rescued children were safely transported by local law enforcement to designated recovery centers, where they received support from social services, child welfare professionals, medical personnel, victim advocates and other child-focused resources,” the note clarified.
“Many of these children have been victims of those who prey on the most vulnerable,” said the Attorney General. “Florida will continue to lead the recovery of missing children, seeking out every predator and prosecuting abusers to the fullest extent of the law.”
Three suspects arrested
A total of three people have been arrested to date, although the Florida Attorney General’s office warned that “more arrests are expected in the coming days.”
Those arrested include one charged with three counts of lewd acts with a minor and an arrest warrant for interference with the custody of a minor; another accused of lewd assault against a victim between 12 and 16 years old; and one for interference in a child custody case and resisting arrest without violence.
Florida authorities located vulnerable minors throughout the country and outside the United States. The operation includes the rescue of 46 minors in the Tampa Bay region, 41 in Miami, 32 in Jacksonville, 21 in Orlando, 12 in Fort Myers, 8 in Pensacola and 3 in Tallahassee. Locations of operations in the United States and its territories included Alabama, California, Ohio, New York, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, and Tennessee. Outside the United States they included Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominica, Finland, Ghana, Guatemala, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Spain and Taiwan.
This macro operation occurs almost a year after Florida rescued 122 minors in another similar operation, in which six people were arrested.
More than 460,000 children disappear each year on average in the United States, although most are found, and one in seven minors who flee to the streets is a victim of sex trafficking, according to the National Protection Task Force.
