The FBI has rescued more than 100 children and arrested their abusers in a coordinated human trafficking effort with other agencies in the state of Texas.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced Tuesday that almost 250 offenders were arrested as a result of Operation Soteria Shield, a strike effort aimed at rescuing children from online sexual exploitation.
“Thanks to Operation Soteria Shield — a full-scale effort of over 70 federal, state, and local public/private partners coming together to protect America’s kids,” wrote Patel on X.
The local, state, and federal partners joined forces to execute 165 search warrants and seize of 1,130 digital devices, according to an FBI spokesman, The Daily Wire reports.
FBI law enforcement officials announced that 109 children were rescued during the operation and nearly 400 charges were filed at the federal and state level.
“Online exploitation of children is one of the most insidious crimes we face as a society. It reaches into every community, crosses every boundary, and leaves lasting harm on its youngest victims. Operation Soteria Shield brought together an unprecedented level of collaboration and resolve to confront this crisis head-on,” said Plano Police Chief Ed Drain.
SAC Rothrock hosted a press conference with our law enforcement partners to announce the results of Soteria Shield, a month-long enforcement operation aimed at rescuing children from online sexual exploitation and bringing perpetrators to justice. https://t.co/jQpvCbkUVn pic.twitter.com/zyd0TFijiL
— FBI Dallas (@FBIDallas) June 10, 2025
“Through this operation, we not only rescued children from unimaginable abuse, but we also sent a clear message: those who seek to harm our children online will be found and brought to justice. Our work is far from over, but this effort has made our communities safer and brought hope to those who need it most,” he continued.
A 3,000-Mile Mission to Raise Awareness of Trafficking
Meanwhile, a handful of cyclists are taking a different approach to highlight the growing problem of child sex trafficking globally and in the United States by setting out on a non-stop, transcontinental relay race to bring “rescue and restoration to children.”
ZOE International has a mission to “reach every person with God’s love and rescue every child from human trafficking through prevention, rescue, and restoration programs in five countries—the United States, Thailand, Mexico, Japan, and Australia,” according to a press statement.
Just ahead of Father’s Day, eight cyclists with ZOE International and their crew will set out on a non-stop, transcontinental, 3,000-mile relay race from Oceanside, California, to renowned Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the 2025 Race Across America (RAAM).
“I wasn’t aware of human trafficking happening in the states,” noted crew chief and former cyclist, Allen Fisher. “ZOE is bringing freedom to many children, and I want to stand with them. If we pull one child out of sex trafficking, it’s worth it.”
According to ZOE International, the group competed in the RAAM in 2019, claiming third place, and raised over $175,000 to combat child trafficking. They took first place in 2021 and received donations totaling more than $380,000 for ZOE International. Then in 2023, the team rode to a second-place finish in Annapolis, Maryland. This year, the team’s goal is $750,000.
The cyclists will go from the Pacific Ocean to Monument Valley in Utah, up the Rocky Mountains, through the plains of Kansas, over the Mississippi, through the Midwest, and over the Appalachian Mountains to Atlantic City.
The entire journey will take about six days and will be “a grueling, muscle-numbing, sleep-depriving, and stunningly beautiful ride, covered in alternating 15-minute calf-searing sprints by each rider,” leaders with the organization said.
Brad Ortenzi, a former undercover online child exploitation investigator with the Ephrata Police Department in Pennsylvania, is the ZOE team’s race director.
He also serves as the Eastern USA Regional Director for ZOE.
Ortenzi and his wife, Lori, were introduced to ZOE’s ministry to children firsthand in 2014.
“We visited Thailand and expected to see shattered broken kids, but instead, we saw children overflowing with joy,” he explained. “They were healthy and healing, exceeding our expectations. Lori and I were stunned.”
“The children’s fight inspired me,” Ortenzi added. “Every one of them was a fighter—fighting to get their life back. Their fight inspired me and changed my life. Competing in Race Across America allows ZOE to take this fight against child sex trafficking across the United States.”
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