'It really is just the first step': FBI rescues 200 human trafficking victims in 2 week sting

WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Some 200 men and women are safe tonight after a nationwide FBI sting on human trafficking. Agents found the victims over a two-week period in July they called "Operation Cross Country XIII."

"Vulnerable people are the ones that are manipulated and get entrapped into this world," said Chaplain Krista Hull of Redeem & Restore Center in Waukesha.

Krista Hull's nonprofit "Redeem and Restore" is just one place in the Milwaukee area human trafficking victims can turn to for support, after police arrest the perpetrator.

"The rescue, like we talk about the FBI rescue and the other stings those are wonderful and those are needed, but in many ways, that's the easiest part. It really is just the first step. The hard work is the day in and day out and not giving up," said Hull.

Operation Cross Country XIII arrested or identified 126 human traffickers and identified another 68 traffickers. The biggest net was the victims, 200 of them, including 59 children.

"Here in America, it is rarely a stranger. It is someone you know who's manipulating you, playing you," said Hull.

Of the 200 victims rescued by the FBI in this sting, at least six were in Wisconsin, including at least one right here in Brookfield.

Victims were also found in Oak Creek, Oshkosh and De Pere. And two arrests were made in the state.

"It definitely could be hotels, it could be out of homes, people are trafficked out of homes," said Hull.

As the sting continued, FBI agents also ended up finding 59 actively missing children. But, as Hull explains, next steps for underage victims can be difficult.

"And if they're a minor, do they have to go back to a parent and was that already a bad situation or back to foster care?" said Hull.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children can be reached at 1 (800) THE-LOST, which is 1 (800) 843-5678.

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