Northwest suburban cops help with sex trafficking crackdown

Two Northwest suburban police departments were part of a nationwide law enforcement crackdown on child sex trafficking, though their local efforts instead resulted in four women being charged with prostitution offenses, authorities said Thursday.

The Arlington Heights and Schaumburg police departments were among hundreds of departments nationwide that participated in the 11th FBI-led Operation Cross Country, an Oct. 12-15 effort targeting underage human trafficking.

The FBI reported three minors were recovered and two traffickers arrested in the Chicago area during the undercover sting, though details about where the recoveries and arrests took place won't be revealed until the two suspects face formal federal charges, officials said.

Arlington Heights and Schaumburg police said Thursday it wasn't in their towns.

What they did yield from the investigation were four prostitution cases.

In Arlington Heights, a 24-year-old Phoenix woman was arrested and charged Oct. 12 with misdemeanor prostitution after she agreed to meet an undercover cop at a local hotel.

Schaumburg police made two misdemeanor prostitution arrests and issued a local prostitution ordinance violation to a third person on Oct. 13. The female suspects range in age from 23 to 44.

Nationwide, the FBI reported 85 minors were recovered and 122 traffickers were arrested.