The Justice Department announced Wednesday several sex trafficking arrests targeting the violent street gang MS-13.
Eleven members or associates of the gang that originated in El Salvador and now operates in nearly every U.S. state were arrested on charges in northern Virginia and Maryland related to sexual exploitation and physical abuse of a minor, according to the Justice Department.
“Sex traffickers often prey upon the most vulnerable victims in our society, and when combined with the horrific abuses of a gang like MS-13, the effects can be devastating,” G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said about the announcement. “I have personally handled the prosecution of MS-13 members in northern Virginia for over a decade, including for gang-controlled sex trafficking, and I have led meaningful outreach efforts with the Hispanic community in order to raise public awareness of these serious threats”…
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