The Sarasota and Manatee county sheriff's offices participated in Operation Statewide Shield, Florida's largest child recovery initiative, which recovered 163 missing children statewide. The Tampa Bay region led all regions with 46 recoveries.
The Sarasota and Manatee county sheriff's offices participated in the operation that recovered 46 missing children in the Tampa Bay region as part of Florida's largest child recovery operation, Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Monday, Aug. 25.
Operation Statewide Shield, a five-day initiative led by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, recovered 163 children statewide. The children ranged in age from 2 months to 17 years old. Officials described it as the state's first statewide child recovery initiative.
The Tampa Bay region's 46 recoveries led all seven regions. Miami followed with 41, Jacksonville with 32, Orlando with 21, Fort Myers with 12, Pensacola with eight and Tallahassee with three.
The attorney general's office did not specify how many of the 46 Tampa Bay recoveries occurred in Sarasota or Manatee counties specifically.
Cases ranged from runaways to trafficking
Officials said the 163 children were not all connected to one trafficking organization. Cases included custody disputes, abuse or neglect, foster care situations, runaways and trafficking allegations, officials said at a Monday news conference in Tampa, according to WWSB.
"Recovery is just the first day of a child's case, not the last," said Rita Peters, special counsel to the attorney general for human trafficking, who served as a legal adviser for the operation.
Recovered children were transported to designated recovery hubs, where they received support from social services workers, child welfare professionals, medical providers and victim advocates. Some children were reunited with families; others were placed in foster care, according to the attorney general's office.
Operation reached beyond Florida
The operation ran for five days in mid-August and extended beyond state lines. Recoveries reached Alabama, California, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Puerto Rico, as well as 12 other countries, including Brazil, Canada, Colombia and Mexico, according to Fox News.
Three men have been arrested so far. None were from the Sarasota area. Michael Corey Prescott, 42, of Jacksonville, faces three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, felony battery and aggravated assault. Robert Ferral Allison, 29, of Cape Coral, was charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a victim between 12 and 16 years old. Jayden Allen Harwood, 18, of Jacksonville Beach, was charged with interference in a child custody case and resisting officers without violence.
More arrests are expected.
Thirteen sheriff's offices participated, including Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas in the Tampa Bay area. The operation was planned alongside the Office of Statewide Prosecution, the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Juvenile Justice, BayCare, More to Life and the Florida Human Trafficking Victims Fund.
Replacement corrected draft
The Sarasota and Manatee county sheriff's offices participated in Operation Statewide Shield, Florida's largest child recovery initiative, which recovered 163 missing children statewide. The Tampa Bay region led all regions with 46 recoveries.
The Sarasota and Manatee county sheriff's offices participated in the operation that recovered 46 missing children in the Tampa Bay region as part of Florida's largest child recovery operation, Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Tuesday, Aug. 25.
Operation Statewide Shield, a five-day initiative led by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, recovered 163 children statewide. The children ranged in age from 2 months to 17 years old. Officials described it as the state's first statewide child recovery initiative.
The Tampa Bay region's 46 recoveries led all seven regions. Miami followed with 41, Jacksonville with 32, Orlando with 21, Fort Myers with 12, Pensacola with eight and Tallahassee with three.
The attorney general's office did not specify how many of the 46 Tampa Bay recoveries occurred in Sarasota or Manatee counties specifically.
Cases ranged from runaways to trafficking
Officials said the 163 children were not all connected to one trafficking organization. Cases included custody disputes, abuse or neglect, foster care situations, runaways and trafficking allegations, officials said at a Tuesday news conference in Tampa, according to WWSB.
"Recovery is just the first day of a child's case, not the last," said Rita Peters, special counsel to the attorney general for human trafficking, who served as a legal adviser for the operation.
Recovered children were transported to designated recovery hubs, where they received support from social services workers, child welfare professionals, medical providers and victim advocates. Some children were reunited with families; others were placed in foster care, according to the attorney general's office.
Operation reached beyond Florida
The operation ran for five days in mid-August and extended beyond state lines. Recoveries reached Alabama, California, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Puerto Rico, as well as 12 other countries, including Brazil, Canada, Colombia and Mexico, according to Fox News.
Three men have been arrested so far. None were from the Sarasota area. Michael Corey Prescott, 42, of Jacksonville, faces three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, felony battery and aggravated assault. Robert Ferral Allison, 29, of Cape Coral, was charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a victim between 12 and 16 years old. Jayden Allen Harwood, 18, of Jacksonville Beach, was charged with interference in a child custody case and resisting officers without violence.
More arrests are expected.
Thirteen sheriff's offices participated, including Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas in the Tampa Bay area. The operation was planned alongside the Office of Statewide Prosecution, the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Juvenile Justice, BayCare, More to Life and the Florida Human Trafficking Victims Fund.
