Operation Stormy Nights was an early major anti- human-trafficking operation by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...

(FBI).Rhodes, p. 7. Operations took place in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

and brought to light

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

networks trafficking female minors along

United States Numbered Highways The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these ...

, where the girls were forced into prostitution to service

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

Onset

The operation was undertaken in 2004 and resulted in the release of 23 girls from

child prostitution Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, child p ...

. Twelve

pimps Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

were arrested. Most of these traffickers' victims were between 12 and 17 years of age.

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Alan Prince said that operations like Stormy Nights "are difficult because the girls are always on the move... and when you find them, it's hard to talk to them." This

sting operation In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an undercover law enforcement officer, detective, or co-operative member of the public play a role ...

was headed by FBI agent Mike Beaver, who was working as an

undercover agent To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...

Sex trafficking

One of the human trafficking victims rescued in Stormy Nights was a girl named Angie. Beaver called Angie "a normal, typical American teenager." Angie, from Wichita,

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

, was being forced into

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

with another girl, Melissa, in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

.Rhodes, p. 8. They were both teenagers at the time.

Short film

Angie was later interviewed in the documentary film ''

Not My Life ''Not My Life'' is a 2011 American independent documentary film about human trafficking and contemporary slavery. The film was written, produced, and directed by Robert Bilheimer, who had been asked to make the film by Antonio Maria Costa, ex ...

'', in which Angie explains how she and Melissa were expected to engage in

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal pene ...

with truck drivers at a truck stop and steal their money. Angie said that, while looking through one of these drivers' wallets, she found pictures of the man's grandchildren and realized that he was old enough to be her and Melissa's grandfather. She recounts this story disgustedly and almost crying, and says, "I wanted to die." Beaver also appears in the film, saying, "It's not just truck drivers. We're seeing them purchased and abused by both white collar and blue collar individuals."

Robert Bilheimer Robert Bilheimer is the American director of Worldwide Documentaries. He is the son of American Presbyterian theologian Robert S. Bilheimer.Rhodes, p. 32. Bilheimer received an Academy Award nomination for his film '' The Cry of Reason''. The ex ...

, the film's director, said that Angie did not fit the stereotype for a girl at risk of being sexually trafficked: she was from the

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization ...

, attended a

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

and, when her parents divorced, she began

acting out In the psychology of defense mechanisms and self-control, acting out is the performance of an action considered bad or anti-social. In general usage, the action performed is destructive to self or to others. The term is used in this way in sexua ...

as a way of seeking attention. A man abducted her when she was 12 years old, violated the

Mann Act The White-Slave Traffic Act, also called the Mann Act, is a United States federal law, passed June 25, 1910 (ch. 395, ; ''codified as amended at'' ). It is named after Congressman James Robert Mann of Illinois. In its original form the act mad ...

by transporting her to another state, and began trafficking her sexually. While being trafficked, Angie was expected to engage in 40 sex acts every night, charging $20 for

oral sex Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth) and the throat. Cunnilingus is oral sex p ...

, $40 for vaginal sex, and $80 for both. Her trafficker threatened to kill her if she refused to perform these acts. Bilheimer said that the truck drivers Angie was expected to service either did not know or did not want to know what would happen to her if she did not give all of the money she earned to her pimp. Another girl who was rescued in Stormy Nights, one of Angie's friends, was sent to a

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a ...

in order to facilitate the preparation of her

testimony In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. ...

, and the DA told the girl that he wouldn't talk to her until she had performed

fellatio Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act involving a person stimulating the penis of another person by using the mouth, throat, or both. Oral stimulation of the scrotu ...

on him. Bilheimer said that, while there is no way of being certain how many girls like Angie are being sexually trafficked, "diligent people out there have arrived at a bare minimum figure of... one hundred thousand girls, eight to fifteen erformingten sex acts a day", adding up to "a billion unpunished crimes of sexual violence on an annual basis." While Bilheimer interviewed Beaver at a Midwestern truck stop like the ones at which Angie was trafficked, someone wrote "Fuck you, asshole!" in the dirt on Beaver's car. Bilheimer said that this act demonstrated that many truck drivers hate law enforcement, although he said that "there are some good truckers out there,"Rhodes, p. 46. like those who are part of Truckers Against Trafficking, an organization opposing human trafficking by raising awareness on the subject among truck drivers. When news of Stormy Nights was made public, there was a strong public response across the country, so the FBI established "Innocence Lost", a new department working to free children from prostitution.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stormy Nights, Operation 2004 crimes in the United States Child prostitution in the United States Child sexual abuse in the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation operations Forced prostitution in the United States Human trafficking in the United States