Federal Program Debuts to Tackle Online Crimes Against Children

U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales kicked off a new training program that will aid law-enforcement professionals in their fight against the growing problem of online child sexual exploitation.

The training program will facilitate cross-agency collaboration in both investigating and prosecuting child sexual exploitation cases in an effort to ensure stronger penalties against those who harm children. Conducted at theNational Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the training is a part of the Department of Justice'sProject Safe Childhood, and will increase cooperation among law-enforcement agencies and their U.S. Attorneys' Offices and provide their staffs with the latest tools for investigating crimes against children.

During yesterday's speech, Attorney General Gonzales stressed that participants in the training will study pedophiles, their methods, their online tactics, and the tools law enforcement has to catch them.

"Through this program, we will increase our traction against the pedophiles by strengthening the family of law enforcement," said Attorney General Gonzales. "Our ability to work seamlessly together at the state, local, and federal levels is the most important part of the arsenal we are building against those who seek to hurt our kids. It's what Project Safe Childhood is all about."

According to Ernie Allen, President and CEO of NCMEC, "Child pornography is a multi-billion dollar business and one in seven kids online receives sexual solicitations. To keep the Internet from being a refuge for those who seek to exploit children, we must encourage law-enforcement agencies to work together and provide them with the latest investigative tools and know-how. This workshop will allow us to do just that."

The five-day training program will be held at the Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center at the headquarters of NCMEC in Alexandria, Virginia. It will include regional teams of local, state, and federal officers, staff of U.S. Attorneys' Offices, and members of the Internet Crimes against Children Task Forces from Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, and Washington. The training will include techniques for investigating and prosecuting computer-facilitated crimes against children. Sessions include:

• federal statutes that apply to Internet crimes against children;
• technical forensics tools that can be used to carry out Internet investigations and to gather digital evidence;
• investigating CyberTipline leads that come through NCMEC's online site, where citizens report possible incidents of child exploitation;
• resources offered by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces, the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
• NCMEC's Child Victim Identification Program, which employs technology, research, and the local knowledge of individuals across the country to identify locations and victims seen in exploitative images of children posted online.

Allen also said that he would like to see more criminals prosecuted at the federal level, where they are likely to face the stiffest penalties. "While all 50 states consider the online enticement of a child for sexual activity a crime, the penalties vary widely state to state and may range from a simple fine to life in prison. Under federal law, online enticement is a felony punishable by a minimum prison term of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment."

U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales (Photograph by Robert Bird/NCMEC)