JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, along with multiple other agencies, announced Monday the arrest of more than 50 people in connection with a cross-country human trafficking investigation.
The FBI-led investigation focused on identifying and finding victims of sex and human trafficking across the country.
Here locally, Sheriff T.K. Waters and Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper announced the arrest of 55 people in connection with the investigation.
The FBI Jacksonville Division and 17 other agencies helped recover two children and two adults of trafficking, and during the process, located two more missing children.
In Duval County, of the more than 30 people arrested, 16 were charged for traveling to meet with a minor.
In Nassau County, 24 people in total were charged.
Sheriff Leeper said 12 of those charged were engaging in prostitution, and 12 were charged for soliciting prostitutes.
The people arrested were from Nassau County, Jacksonville, Orange Park, Lake City, and parts of Georgia.
"The thing to remember is that these aren't victimless crimes. Human trafficking and prostitution ruin the lives of everyone involved. [Prostitution and human trafficking] results in exploitation, disease, dysfunction, drug, and alcohol addiction, violence, and broken families," said Sheriff Bill Leeper.