WASHINGTON, D.C. - More than 100 teens were saved from forced prostitution in a nationwide sweep over the weekend, the FBI announced on Monday.
The raids also resulted in the arrests of 105 suspected pimps, agents said.
In San Diego, five teens were saved from exploitation and six accused pimps were arrested, results from the sweep show. The accused pimps' names were not yet released.
"We are trying to take this crime out of the shadows and put a spotlight on it," an FBI spokesperson said at a news conference in Washington.
The child sex trafficking sting spanned dozens of cities over the weekend, FBI officials said.
A similar raid in San Diego in 2012 resulted in two teens being saved from forced prostitution, and seven alleged pimps arrested, according to a check of FBI records online.
In this latest raid, the youngest child was 13. A spokesperson said the majority of 105 kids rescued over the weekend were between the ages of 14 and 16. Some adults were also saved from exploitation.
Federal agents went undercover and used social media platforms as part of their investigating method in "Operation Cross Country VII, a three-day enforcement action to address commercial child sex trafficking throughout the United States," a news release said.
The sweep sent undercover officers out onto streets and into hotels and casinos in at least 70 cities.
San Francisco had the highest numbers, with 12 teens saved and 17 suspected pimps arrested.
