WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. authorities say 10 of the children placed in protective custody after a massive crackdown on child-prostitution had previously been reported missing.
The Justice Department said it rescued 47 juveniles in the operation announced Monday, including 10 who were on the registry at the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Federal and local law enforcement agencies in two dozen U.S. cities began making the arrests last weekend and eventually picked up 73 alleged pimps and around 500 other adults.
The Washington Post said most of the children were teenage girls ages 13 to 17 who had run away or been separated from their families in some other fashion.
The head of the missing children center, Eric Allen, said juvenile sex trafficking could be found in urban and rural areas and was made easier by the Internet.
