A sex trafficking sting in southern California resulted in 368 arrests and 131 trafficked individuals being freed by police in a major, multi-department operation.

The Orange County Register in California is reporting that victims of the sting ranged from as young as 13 years old. These women were brought into the sex trade and many have been trapped there for decades.

Operation Reclaim and Rebuild was conducted over seven days in nine counties, including Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino, said Chief Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Numerous federal, state and local law enforcement agencies were involved in the effort, including the LAPD, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

"The victims' ages in this operation were found to be between 13 and 52 years of age, with six of them being juveniles," Moore said at a news conference at the LAPD Elysian Park Academy.

"The average age of most victims was in their mid-20s, and our investigators worked diligently alongside our victim advocacy groups in providing these victims with services and resources to help them escape from this life-threatening environment."

And y'all still want to abolish the police?

They're far from perfect, but where would these women and children be without them?

Here's the local story with press conference:

Investigators responded to various advertisements offering sexual services, and went to massage parlors where people were suspected of being involved in sex trafficking. Among the arrestees were pimps and panderers, along with customers of sexual services, Moore said.

Thank goodness for these officers doing their jobs and taking down this operation.

There are likely hundreds of illegal prostitution services just like this all over the US, so there remains lots of work to be done.