Issue link: http://lawandordermag.epubxp.com/i/98779
C omputer exploitation is so commonplace, it is diffcult for law enforcement to keep up with the fow of criminal activity. Franklin County, Ill. Sheriff���s Detective Richard ���Flip��� Minton is a trained computer forensic examiner, a member of the Attorney General���s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the U.S. Secret Service Southern Illinois Cybercrime Unit. He reported, ���The playing feld has expanded exponentially and perpetrators can troll for children in the safety of their own homes. There are how-to manuals online to coach perpetrators in how to exploit children, and how to choose victims.��� Minton stated that while administrators might not acknowledge the problem and resist assigning resources, the problem is everywhere, no matter where you live and there is not always someone else to do the job. He stated, ���It is important for administrators to understand that in this day and age, you���d better have people trained to handle these issues or you will be left behind.��� Internet predators are not one size fts all. They are registered sex offenders, teachers, coaches, grandfathers, businessmen and politicians. The Internet has just made it possible for more people to have more encounters with children. Det. Minton discussed the wide array of perpetrators they have charged, from regular citizens to a police dispatcher, a retired DOC prison guard, a law student, a prosecutor���s son and yes, Santa Claus. The Santa Claus assisted with the local Shop with a Cop program in his Santa suit and ended up on Minton���s ���Wall of Shame��� of those responsible for the sexual exploitation of children. Predators have always sought out the perfect victim, children starved for attention and looking for nurturing and acceptance. Before social networking, perpetrators had to fnd a venue, such as coaching, volunteering, or providing the neighborhood hangout. Now they can be anyone the child needs and they construct their own persona based on the cues the child gives them in online conversations. Some Internet predators seek pornographic images but others are what Det. Minton refers to as ���travelers,��� those who seek children they can meet for sexual exploitation. Illinois has a specifc felony charge when predators go to meet children, called ���Traveling to meet a minor��� and occurs when a person travels either within Illinois, to Illinois, or from Illinois, for the purpose of engaging in any sex offense or other unlawful sexual conduct with a child or with another person believed to be a child after contacting the child on the Internet. Minton stated that perpetrators think they are anonymous in the privacy of their homes, but the Internet is the most documented of all media. They use chat rooms, social media, and Craig���s List ads to look for victims. Child Abuse that Lasts Forever Det. Minton explained, ���Most of our investigations involve people trading child pornography. These people trade images and movies of children that have been victimized by adults. We feel each time one of these depictions is viewed, that child is once again being victimized.��� Minton stated that people share these images and movies by several methods. The most often used method is by a peer-to-peer or ���P2P��� client. An example of one of these clients is Livewire. These programs allow people to share their fles with others on the Internet and they can search for fles such as PTHC (preteen hardcore). He said people also utilize chat rooms to send their images to other likeminded people. ���The ways people can share or trade their child pornography images and movies are only limited by the number of methods that people communicate on the Internet. We are always looking for the person who actually produces the child pornography. These cases are where a child is being molested during the production of these depictions.��� ICAC Task Forces Sgt. Bill Dehart with the Colorado ICAC Task Force said working with an Internet-based task force is different than the usual task force experience, in that there are no territorial issues and no ego. Using an ICAC Task Force, he can contact an investigator in any other state and tell him / her he has located a perpetrator in their jurisdiction and they will have no problem working the case, including immediate action to rescue a child, if that child might be in danger. They can get immediate results in that manner and if they do not have evidence a child is at immediate risk, the investigators will still put it in their ���queue��� and work it as any of their other cases. Preferential offenders, those who are only interested in sexual acts with children, cannot act out their fantasies with anyone but children. Therefore, they seem helpless to avoid situations that may end up with them conversing with an undercover offcer. Sgt. Dehart reports a huge number of new images online every day that investigators cannot identify. On the other hand, there are many victims who have been identifed in series of child pornographic images traded by pornographers and well known by authorities. Some are now adults and some even live in other countries. With these identifed victims, offcers can know those child pornography victims are safe and may be able to have them testify in some instances. It is sometimes diffcult to determine if a person is underage or an older teen- www.lawandordermag.com 57