Internet usage creates challenges for protecting children



The creation and increased popularity of the Internet has allowed millions of users the ability to buy products, re-connect with old friends, and learn about new places and environments.  However, the Internet has also allowed child predators to lurk in the dark corners of the World Wide Web and share illegal images of children.  In the United States it is a federal crime to knowingly access, distribute, manufacture, and possess with the intent to view child pornography.  All 50 states and the District of Columbia also have laws against child pornography.  

According to a July 29, 2012 Boston Globe article by Jenifer B. McKim about investigating Internet child pornography: “There has been a proliferation of sexual abuse pictures in recent years with the spread of high-speed Internet access and identity-masking software, according to Ernie Allen,” who is the founding chairman of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

According to a 2008 study by Michael Bourke – chief psychologist at the U.S. Marshals Service, 85% of men arrested for possession of child pornography had also been sexually exploited as a child.

Research has indicated the 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys will be the victims of sexual assault before adulthood.

For more information and resources regarding prevention of child pornography, abuse and neglect visit:

Stop it Now: http://www.stopitnow.org/

The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW): https://www.nsopw.gov/en/Home/About

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: https://www.ice.gov/cyber-crimes/resources

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: http://www.missingkids.com/home

Sources: “Led by an innocent into a web of evil,” by Jenifer B. McKim, The Boston Globe. July 29, 2012

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