A proactive undercover operation conducted by the Boone County Sheriff's Office has led to multiple enticement of a child arrests this week, according to court documents.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reported a 323% increase in child sex trafficking cases between 2024 and 2025. More than 36,000 reports have been recorded in Missouri, and more than 21 million reports were recorded nationwide in 2025.
"I think that's in regard to several issues," said Beth Pierson, commercial sexual exploitation of children program specialist for the Missouri Network Against Child Abuse. "There's been a lot of publicity around generative AI, so that's increased it."
In these kinds of sting operations an adult investigator typically poses as a child, Pierson said.
Pierson said there is a great deal of preparation that goes into conducting a sting operation, and efforts from more than one law enforcement agency may be required.
"For example, in Boone County, you may have had multiple law enforcement entities involved in that," Pierson said. "They will work on making sure service providers are on hand to be able to provide services to victims that are recovered."
When planning the operation, law enforcement has to consider the questions that will be asked, and whether they will intercept the individuals for the arrests, Pierson said.
"I can't say exactly how long it takes to plan one of these," Pierson said. "But from the information I've heard, it can take quite some time to make sure everything is in place."
Peirson said that perpetrators tend to prey on youth who have been involved with the children's division and juvenile offices in the past.
"A lot of times, children are being exploited by people they know, someone they have a relationship with, or even a family member," Pierson said. "It's very difficult for them to come forward and say something that is going to have ramifications throughout multiple levels of their lives."
KOMU 8 reached out to the Boone County Sheriff's Office to better understand how the operation began, but the office declined to comment.