168 Victims Of Child Sex Trafficking Rescued by FBI [Video]

The FBI announced yesterday the rescue of 168 children who were being pimped out to adults nationwide.

It turns out, the bust of a Grand Rapids area man for being involved in the sexual assault of a child was just the tip of the iceberg.

Hundreds of alleged pimps are off the street thanks to the FBI's latest Operation Cross Country.  Nearly 170 victims of child sex trafficking, many of whom had never been reported missing, were rescued in the last week as part of an annual nationwide crackdown, the FBI revealed yesterday.  "These are not faraway kids in faraway lands," said FBI Director James Comey. Instead, he added, "These are America's children."

This is the eighth such week long-operation, which this year unfolded in 106 cities. The FBI says nearly 3,600 children have so far been recovered from the streets.

"There is no more meaningful work that the FBI participates in than rescuing children," Comey said.  In February,the FBI announced that 16 juveniles were recovered and more than 45 pimps and their associates were arrested in a joint Super Bowl operation targeting child sex trafficking.

Since its creation in 2003, the Bureau's Innocence Lost program has resulted in the identification and recovery of about 3,600 children who have been sexually exploited, according to the FBI.

While announcing the results of the crackdown on Monday, the FBI released a video of Nicole, who was 17 when she was lured into a life of forced prostitution.