April 18, 2011
With the advent of the Internet, child sexual abuse and exploitation cases have exploded. Today, hundreds of thousands of pedophiles can easily find one another through cyberspace, encourage each other to commit crimes, teach one another how to do so, and share strategies on how to effectively evade law enforcement and justice.
Unfortunately, due to lack of resources, law enforcement can only investigate less than 1% of these individuals, leaving millions of innocent children vulnerable.
If you care about the safety of our children, please take a moment now to sign and share our petition!
April 13, 2011
Detective Bill Daleske (pictured left) of Chaves County Sheriff’s Department was the lucky winner of a Camtasia Studio license by TechSmith on March 30, 2011 at the SHIFT Regional Training at the Sheraton Albuquerque Airport Hotel in Albuquerque, NM.
The Camtasia Studio software allows you to record anything on your PC screen along with webcam and audio. The product is used by educational and goverment organizations, including the NYPD, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, the US Postal Service, and the FBI.
The New Mexico Regional SHIFT Training, team taught by Lieutenant Kris Carlson, Commander of the Vermont ICAC, and Dr. Anne Balboni, state coordinator & clinical director of the state-wide Rhode Island CISM Team, offered professionals who are exposed to child sexual abuse and torture images and who may interact often with child sex offenders (e.g., law enforcement officers, forensic analysts, prosecutors, etc.), the opportunity to learn about the causes and symptoms of the negative effects that may occur as a result of their duties and ways to mitigate them.
Mental health professionals learned about the challenges faced by professionals exposed to child pornography and other operations involving child sex offenders.
For a list of upcoming SHIFT Trainings, please visit www.shiftwellness.org.
April 11, 2011
Mexican journalist, author and activist Lydia Cacho is taking on social media giant Facebook, saying that the company allows sexual predators to operate freely on their site. She recently told media that many images of child pornography can be found on sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.
Cacho explained that when Facebook finds a page containing images of child pornography it closes the account. The problem with that is that colsing the account deletes all the digital evidence that would aid law enforcement to prosecute the offender, and very often the person simply opens another account later that day.
Cacho is asking that before closing any accounts with child pornography, Facebook’s leaders should contact law enforecment so that investigators can get the IP address and track down the identity of sexual predators. “They have a lot of power, and they should also use it help children,” Cacho told El Mensajero.
Cacho isn’t alone, however, in taking on child pornography in social meadia. A bipartisan bill to be introduce later this month by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) intends to tackle the subject. The bill would require Internet service providers to keep computer records and identification information of users for two years, so that federal law enforcement agencies can use the information in their child-pornography investigations.
Digital Forensic Specialist Elise Feetham (pictured left) with the New England State Police Information Network, was the lucky winner of a WebCase license by Vere Software on March 24, 2011 at the SHIFT Regional Training at the Marriott Courtyard in Marlborough, MA.
WebCase® was designed by experienced law enforcement professionals to help you collect Internet information in a usable, evidentiary, reportable manner. The software is an easy to learn, easy to use solution that changes the way investigators locate, collect, manage, and present online evidence.
The Massachusetts Regional SHIFT Training, team taught by Lt. Kristian Carlson, Commander of the Burlington, Vermont Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (VT-ICAC) and Dr. B. Anne Balboni, Coordinator/Director of the Rhode Island Critical Incident Stress Management Team, offered professionals who are exposed to child sexual abuse and torture images and who may interact often with child sex offenders (e.g., law enforcement officers, forensic analysts, prosecutors, etc.), the opportunity to learn about the causes and symptoms of the negative effects that may occur as a result of their duties and ways to mitigate them.
Mental health professionals learned about the challenges faced by professionals exposed to child pornography and other operations involving child sex offenders.
For a list of upcoming SHIFT Trainings, please visit www.shiftwellness.org.
April 8, 2011
Registered sex offender Eric Frasher, 48, of Santee, CA, is back behind bars Wednesday for allegedly distributing child pornography. In 2000, Frasher was convicted of possession of images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
According to authorities, in February an undercover FBI agent used a file sharing program to select and download numerous child sexual abuse images directly from Frasher’s computer. Frasher’s Santee residence was searched and he admitted to FBI agents that he used a file sharing program to receive and distribute child pornography. According to the FBI, a forensic analysis of items taken from his home that day revealed hundreds of images depicting child sexual abuse and exploitation.
April 7, 2011
Late Monday evening, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law AB109 – the public safety realignment bill - which authorizes the transfer of tens of thousands of convicted felons from state prisons to local control. The measure was part of Brown’s effort to balance the state budget by shifting the burden of housing and supervising these criminals from the state to county level.
One problem: the governor planned on tax increases and extensions to fund the measure, however Republicans have blocked all efforts for Brown to put those taxes before voters in June.
The govenor had a choice to either sign the bill or veto it, otherwise it would have automatically gone into law that evening. So Brown attempted to soften the blow by stating that AB109 will not take effect until the state has figured out how to pay counties for the extra responsibilities.
Sheriffs had initally reluctantly showed support for the bill, only if the measure would be adequately funded. Now they are worried that without a long term, dedicated funding stream, counties will ultimately end up bearing the extra burden without the finiancial resources to pay for them. And that could lead to already-overcrowded jails releasing criminals, said Nick Warner, a lobbyist for the California State Sheriffs Association.
“Without clear constitutional protections and inadequate funding, this is a public safety nightmare,” he said.
Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway, R-Tulare, also issued harsh words in her statement:
“This flawed measure amounts to a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card for thousands of felons who should be in state prison,” she said. “The governor has signed this bill in the name of cost-savings, but it could end up costing lives by letting dangerous criminals out onto our streets without proper supervision. This law will only shift the state’s responsibilities onto the backs of local government without resources to keep our communities safe. I urge my fellow lawmakers to work with Assembly Republicans on follow up legislation that will not endanger our neighborhoods.”
March 29, 2011
“I haven’t been back in Tallahassee since before I was elected to Congress. But I think this is so unbelievably important,” Wasserman Schultz says.
According to Wasserman Schultz, Florida’s Republican governor has put forth a budget that eliminates more than half the cyber-crime investigators who go after child pornornography producers and online predators, slashes funding and moves the program out of the state attorney general’s office.
“There are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of predators who are lurking online using children in sexual acts to bring pleasure to themselves and others,” she explains.
“We do have to make cuts. We have to make smart cuts,” Wasserman Schultz says. “We don’t have to treat children like they’re expendable and we don’t have to put children’s lives at risk, which is exactly what’s going to happen here if this cut is allowed to stand.”
It’s unusual for a member of Congress to directly challenge a sitting govenor – so why now? Wasserman Schultz championed a 2008 federal law to coordinate the efforts of state programs. And this year in the House, she got an amendment to the GOP’s stripped-down budget for at least $30 million in funding for Internet Crimes Against Children task forces.
“But that doesn’t preserve the investigators in Florida,” Wasserman Scultz says. If Gov. Scott’s plan succeeds, Florida risks not being able to use those those valuable resources coming down from the federal level.
March 25, 2011
On 3/16/11, the California state legislature voted to move Assembly Bill 109 forward, which includes a public safety ”realignment” proposal intended to shift the burden of incarceration and parole supervision from the state to local counties, all in an effort to balance the budget.
While the Brown administration claims this plan will not jeopardize public safety and would actually increase “local control,” it is in truth a scheme to release prisoners early, keep repeating offenders in our communities and pass the state’s budget woes on to our counties. And as this 3,000 page proposal was only made available last Thursday, there simply will not be enough time for law enforcement, lawmakers and the general public to study and comment on the legislation before a vote in the Senate and Assembly.
One of the elements of the proposal includes shifting approximately 38,000 offenders in the first year (16,000 from prison and 22,000 from parole) onto local public safety officials and local courts. By 2014, This number would grow to 68,000 (40,000 from prison and 28,000 from parole).
Unfortunately, the governor’s proposal makes no mention of additional resources being made available to law enforcement to handle the vast amount of these unrehabilitated offenders into our neighborhoods. Local sheriffs are already burdened with their own jail and inmate housing challenges.
The governor’s proposal also includes a resurrection of a failed policy idea repealed last year due to public outrage, which involves shortening the sentences of many felons and leaving many more parolees without supervision. In addition, it is expected that approximately 40,000 felons would gain the right to vote because convicted felons not housed in state prison, according to current election code, have the right to vote. This proposal says nothing about ammending the election code.
Another troublesome aspect of the bill is that it will impose a maximum disposition of 14 days in county jail for a Parole Unit sanction or 30 days in county jail imposed by a court sanction. Currently, child sexual abuse offenders receive a parole violation of 10-12 months for having contact with children.
Proponents of the bill state that the lower risk parolees do not require supervision, however the determining factor for “low-risk” raises concern as it is based on their current prison offense, not their history. So repeat offenders of violent crimes, who are currently serving on a petty theft charge, would be considered low-risk under this proposal. Domestic violence offenses are not considered serious or violent felonies.
The governor’s proposal puts all of us at risk by placing an overwhelming burden on local courts and law enforcement agencies who simply will not have the resources to supervise, manage or rehabilitate this huge influx of criminals.
California is not alone in having to make some difficult choices to resolve budget issues, however those choices should not jeopardize our public safety and our inherent right to live free of fear of becoming victims of these unsupervised criminals.
This proposal must be rejected if we are to keep our families and communities safe.
We urge everyone to call, write and email their state senators and assembly members and demand that they vote “no” on AB109 or any other parole realignment proposal. State representatives can be found at:
Senators: http://1.usa.gov/hatDXR | Assembly Members: http://1.usa.gov/eFDSoy
Please pass this critical message along via the social media and email links below. Thank you!
March 18, 2011
Special Agent/Forensic Examiner Matt Sauer (pictured left) for Iowa’s Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa ICAC, was the lucky winner of a Camstasia Studio license by TechSmith on March 10, 2011 at the SHIFT Regional Training at the FAA Enrichment in Ankeny, Iowa.
The Camstasia Studio software allows you to record anything on your PC screen along with webcam and audio. The product is used by educational and goverment organizations, including the NYPD, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, the US Postal Service, and the FBI.
The Iowa Regional SHIFT Training, team taught by Special Agent Scotty Hughes, Commander of the Wyoming ICAC, and Dr. Lawrence Thompson, Jr., Director of Therapy and Psychological Services for The Children’s Assessment Center in Houston, TX, offered professionals who are exposed to child sexual abuse and torture images and who may interact often with child sex offenders (e.g., law enforcement officers, forensic analysts, prosecutors, etc.), the opportunity to learn about the causes and symptoms of the negative effects that may occur as a result of their duties and ways to mitigate them.
Mental health professionals learned about the challenges faced by professionals exposed to child pornography and other operations involving child sex offenders.
For a list of upcoming SHIFT Trainings, please visit www.shiftwellness.org.
March 17, 2011
An international child pornography ring spanning 30 countries centered in The Netherlands was broken up this week by law enforcement, resulting in 184 arrests and 200 children saved.
Europol Director Rob Wainwright says authorities have made arrests in Britian, the US, Australia and spain, and identified an additional 486 suspects and more arrests are likely.
The break in the case came when Dutch authorities arrested the creator of the home-based Internet forum Boylover.net, which did not directly distribute child pornography, rather facilitated the exchange of images and videos between its over 70,000 members from 109 countries.
Tuesday, Amir I, the forum’s creator, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy in Brazil. He could face up to three and a half years in prison.
