Sixty Missing Children Rescued in Central Florida
Yesterday, Attorney General James Uthmeier joined the U.S. Marshal for the Central District of Florida William Berger to announce the rescue of 60 children as part of Operation Dragon Eye in the Tampa Bay Area. As a result of the operation, eight defendants were arrested, including one on charges of human trafficking.
“The real heroes behind this operation are the law enforcement who built and executed this mission. As your Attorney General and a father of three young kids, protecting children is my top priority,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier. “If you victimize children, you’re going to prison, end of story.”
Operation Dragon Eye, led by the U.S. Marshal’s Office with legal counsel provided by the Office of Statewide Prosecution, included efforts from 20 agencies spanning Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough County.
“60 kids saved. That number sends the message that Florida will never be a safe place for traffickers,” said FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass. “At FDLE, we will continue to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. And to any family still missing their child, we will never stop searching until we make sure they are brought home safely.”
The operation is the product of a multidisciplinary task force of federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as social service entities, the medical community, and non-governmental organizations planning and executing a two-week initiative geared to recover or safely locate the most critically missing youth, has been deemed the most successful missing child operation in USMS history. The USMS defines “critically missing” children as those at risk of crimes of violence or those with other elevated risk factors such as substance abuse, sexual exploitation, crime exposure, or domestic violence.
“The unique part of this operation was the fact that underaged critically missing children ranging from age 9 to 17 were not only recovered but were debriefed and provided with physical and psychological care,” said U.S. Marshal William Berger. “This operation further included follow-up assistance in hopes that these youth will not return back to the streets to be further victimized.”
Attorney General Uthmeier’s OSP is the lead prosecuting authority with assistance from the State Attorneys of the Sixth and Thirteenth Judicial Circuits. Special Counsel Rita Peters will prosecute the human trafficking case, with two other human trafficking cases still under investigation.
The eight defendants face charges ranging from human trafficking, child endangerment, drug possession, and drug trafficking.
