16 Children, Suspected Victims of Sex Trafficking, Rescued in Atlanta

The US Marshals Service and many Georgia law enforcement agencies have retrieved over a dozen alleged child sex trafficking victims in metro Atlanta, according to FOX5.

20 children in metro Atlanta, 16 of whom are suspected victims of sex trafficking were recovered over the 2-week period.

The two-week Operation Not Forgotten 2021 in May was led by the US Marshals Service’s Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force and was intended to retrieve missing children considered “endangered” in the Atlanta area.

The 20 children varied in age from 6 weeks to 17 years old and were mostly retrieved from Cobb, Gwinnett, Fulton, and DeKalb counties, according to Katie Byrd, communications director for the Attorney General’s Office, in an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Being embedded throughout the duration of this op allows our prosecutors and investigators to build the strongest possible cases against buyers and traffickers, and allows our victim advocate to ensure those rescued get the critical rehabilitative resources that they need,” Attorney General Chris Carr said. “We will continue to find strategic opportunities like this to recover victims and put criminals behind bars.”