The Department of Justice today announced the arrest of almost 1,700 suspected online child sex offenders during a two-month, nationwide operation conducted by Internet Crimes Against Children task forces. The task forces identified 308 offenders who either produced child pornography or committed child sexual abuse, and 357 children who suffered recent, ongoing or historical sexual abuse or were exploited in the production of child pornography.
The 61 ICAC task forces, located in all 50 states and comprised of more than 4,500 federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies, led the coordinated operation known as “Broken Heart” during the months of April and May 2019. During the course of the operation, the task forces investigated more than 18,500 complaints of technology-facilitated crimes targeting children and delivered more than 2,150 presentations on internet safety to over 201,000 youth and adults.
“The sexual abuse of children is repugnant, and it victimizes the most innocent and vulnerable of all,” Attorney General William P. Barr said. “We must bring the full force of the law against sexual predators, and with the help of our Internet Crimes Against Children program, we will. Over the span of just two months, our ICAC task forces investigated more than 18,000 complaints of internet-related abuse and helped arrest 1,700 alleged abusers. I would like to thank our Office of Justice Programs, all of the task force members, and especially the state and local partners who helped us achieve these important results. We are committed to bringing the defendants in these cases to justice and protecting every American child.
”The operation targeted suspects who: (1) produce, distribute, receive and possess child pornography; (2) engage in online enticement of children for sexual purposes; (3) engage in the sex trafficking of children; and (4) travel across state lines or to foreign countries and sexually abuse children.
The ICAC Program is funded through the Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) within the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). In 1998, OJJDP launched the ICAC Task Force Program to help federal, state and local law enforcement agencies enhance their investigative responses to offenders who use the internet, online communication systems or computer technology to exploit children. To date, ICAC task forces have reviewed more than 922,000 complaints of child exploitation, which have resulted in the arrest of more than 95,500 individuals. In addition, since the ICAC program’s inception, more than 708,500 law enforcement officers, prosecutors and other professionals have been trained on techniques to investigate and prosecute ICAC-related cases.
For more information, visit the ICAC Task Force webpage. For state-level Operation Broken Heart results, please contact the appropriate state ICAC task force commander. Contact information for task force commanders is available online.
The Office of Justice Programs, directed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Matt M. Dummermuth, provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance, and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal justice system. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
The assumption that everyone arrested is guilty just floors me. Calling everyone a sex offender, a term usually declared only after conviction and at time of sentencing is not okay. Calling anyone that who poses little to no risk is bad terrible enough, but to arrest people and declare them all that is unfathomable to me. Every person accused will have their day in court and many will likely never be convicted. I highly doubt 100% of those arrested will be convicted, so why are 100% called sex offenders?
I guess it’s okay now to call anyone accused this label, according to the DOJ.
Beyond what Nicholas posted, how many of those arrests were entrapment? Guessing most, if not all.
As if the electronic infrastructure isn’t the problem in itself. Could children be ” enticed online” if ” online interactions” were not available to them? NO! COULD our election outcomes be vulnerable to attack or manipulation without electronic poll tabulation? NO!
When you opt for convenience, you pay a price.
I surmise that if one works for the government, and is one of the 5,200 pentagon employees who purchased child porn and traded it, and used it to pleasure themselves, then you need not worry about the ICAC. Though I guess that behavior is not really tolerated any more.
im wondering if the lawyers asked HOW they were caught? by using a programing that was challenge couple months ago?
Wasn’t this the same programing that the court threw out couple months ago?
Assuming a 100% conviction rate and using the recidivism rate range for RCs, this means anywhere between 11 (0.6%, rounded up) and 85 (5%) of those caught are currently registered. Put another way, that means between 1,615 and 1,689 new Price Club members. Every new membership increases the chance a relative or friend of someone in a position of responsibility (Congress, Governors, etc) is affected. Closer and closer to critical mass. Maybe one of these days our country will quit going apesh!t over this or that vice and instead apply some reasonableness to crime and rehabilitation.
This doesn’t help the cause to eliminate SORNA
Karma – right back atcha! Works both ways. I mean…. 16! the horror! I am sure the thin blue line will save his beehind, but funny nevertheless.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Student-Uses-Snapchats-Gender-Switch-Filter-to-Nab-Cop-Allegedly-Looking-to-Hook-Up-With-Teen-Girl-511113282.html
Well did they arrest Mark Lunsford? They found child pornography on his computer while investigating his daughter Jessica Lunsford. Here’s the part of the article about Mark : BROOKSVILLE – Police investigating the disappearance of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford found a “limited amount” of child pornography on her father’s computer, prosecutors said Monday.
Mark Lunsford won’t face prosecution for possessing the child pornography, said Peter Magrino, one of the prosecutors of Jessica’s confessed killer, John Evander Couey.
“There’s no evidence to show that he was manufacturing or producing child pornography,” Magrino said. “There was a limited amount of that on the computer.” So if you have child pornography on your computer and there’s no evidence of manufacturing or producing then you can be exonerated and be free after all Mark Lunsford was never charged, prosecutors no evidence of manufacturing or producing child porn, either Mark Lunsford needs to be charged for possessing child porn or let those go free who did same as Mark Lunsford. Fair is Fair