The FBI has freed more than 100 teenage children and arrested 150 so called pimps in a nationwide operation focused on underage prostitution.
Most of the minors rescued during the three-day operation in 76 cities are aged between 13 and 16.
Ronald Hosko, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division said "Our goal is that child trafficking is openly discussed."
"We are trying to take this crime out of the shadows and put a spotlight on it... to put them (the children) out of the cycle."
The sweep took place in conjunction with local, state, and federal law enforcement, as well as the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
NCMEC CEO John Ryan said the sting, dubbed Operation Cross Country, "demonstrates just how many of America's children are being sold for sex every day, many on the Internet."
The operation was part of the bureau's Innocence Lost National Initiative, which, since its launch in 2003, has been involved in the rescue of more than 2,700 sexually exploited children.
There have been 1,350 convictions from the initiative's investigations, resulting "in lengthy sentences, including 10 life terms and the seizure of more than $3.1million in assets," an FBI statement said.
