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National CyberTipline Marks 10 Years of Operation

CyberTipline serves as the nation's online "911" for reporting suspected sexual exploitation crimes against children.

The CyberTipline, the nation's system for reporting suspected sexual exploitation of children will celebrate 10 years of operation this week. Operated by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), the CyberTipline has processed more than 570,000 reports of sex crimes against children, some as young as two weeks old.

Estimates are that 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys will be sexually victimized in some way before they reach the age of 18. NCMEC-funded research reports that 1 in 7 children who are regular Internet users are sexually solicited online.

Created by Congress in 1998, the CyberTipline serves as the nation's online "911" for reporting suspected child pornography and other sexual exploitation crimes against children. It is staffed by dedicated personnel in NCMEC's Exploited Child Division (ECD) who analyze and develop the leads, which are then referred to law enforcement for investigation and prosecution.

The CyberTipline operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Since it was created, NCMEC has observed a dramatic increase in the number of reports received.

"In the first 10 months of operation, the CyberTipline received a total of 4,500 reports," said NCMEC President and CEO Ernie Allen. "For the 12 months during 2007, that number exploded to 105,000. The increase in the number of reports of child pornography and online sexual solicitation of children is alarming. The child pornography images we are receiving are more violent and the victims much younger, even infants."

In addition to the reports received by the general public, the CyberTipline also receives reports from the U.S. based Electronic Service Providers (ESPs). Each individual report may involve several dozen or even hundreds of images. To date, ESPs have reported more than 5 million images of child pornography to the CyberTipline.

Many reports to the CyberTipline have resulted in the arrest and successful prosecution of thousands of offenders worldwide.

One recent report from an ESP to the CyberTipline has led to the identification and arrest of a 55-year-old California man, charged with sexually molesting his six-year-old daughter live via Webcam. Using the information provided and a still image of the sexual abuse, an ECD analyst searched online photo albums for matching physical characteristics, including a convicted sex offender registry.

Further analysis of his tattoos and background confirmed that he was a registered convicted sex offender living in California. Within hours of receiving the CyberTipline report, Sherriff's Deputies executed a search warrant at the suspect's home, where he surrendered to police and confessed to molesting his two young daughters. Both girls were home schooled by the suspect, who rarely allowed them to leave the residence. The girls are reportedly doing well in foster care. The suspect is charged with his third felony conviction in California and is facing a possible sentence of 25 years to life.