Child Pornography: Help is out there

The Internet is a double-edged sword when it comes to capabilities – people can utilize the resource for positive actions while others have learned to manipulate and exploit vulnerabilities. One of these vulnerabilities is child pornography. Sex offenders and cyber predators have used the Internet to distribute and post appalling images of innocent children.

It seems like everyday there is a new story of someone getting caught posting or distributing illicit pictures of children on the web. Both convicted sex offenders and people without any history of sex crimes are committing these acts. Federal and State governments have systems in place to track this behavior, but it is not full proof. Too often people that upload and share child pornography on the Internet are caught because of a tip or by luck.

A concerned parent from Maryland recently contacted SCP worrying that her ex-husband may have viewed child pornography. This person was interested in finding information to deal with the problem. Fortunately Maryland, like most states, has resources for people that find themselves in this situation. Websites like the Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center provides visitors with victim services, crisis assistance, legal help, victim notification, financial help, social services, national victim resources and more. For anyone who finds him or herself in this dilemma, we recommend that you reference your respective state’s victim’s resource center. Protocols vary state-by-state and it is important to take the appropriate steps depending on where you reside.

Multiple companies are also working to prevent the distribution of child pornography. Microsoft is doing its part to protect children with the company’s PhotoDNA technology, which helps find and remove some of the worst images of child sexual exploitation from the web. The software is already used by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) along with Facebook, and should be rolled out across Bing, Hotmail and Skydrive soon.

Redmond has partnered with NetClean to make PhotoDNA image matching tech available to police and law enforcement at no cost. Over 65 million images and videos of child sexual exploitation have been reviewed by the NCMEC since 2002, 10 percent of which are of infants or toddlers who can’t even speak up to protect themselves. Created in collaboration with Dartmouth College, PhotoDNA creates a signature for each image, which allows it to be compared with other image signatures to detect copies. This often leads to removal of the worst pornographic images of children that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Some states are also joining the fight to inhibit child pornography distribution on the web. Recently, several states have passed legislation increasing penalties for people that upload or disseminate child pornography on the Internet. Earlier this month, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed a law increasing penalties for people who disseminate child pornography. The bill requires prison time for anyone caught with child pornography. Iowa lawmakers have also passed legislation increasing penalties for people who send or receive child pornography.

But more still needs to be done. Cyber predators are finding ways around these new technologies and sentencing requirements are not deterring enough people. Help us in this battle to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Contact your state and federal legislators and continue to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.

Forty-Four and Counting….

Today, 44 states have enacted a version of the Jessica Lunsford Act (“Jessica’s Law”). Jessica’s Law, initially passed in Florida in 2005, is in memory of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, who was abducted and sexually assaulted before being brutally murdered. As written, Jessica’s Law primarily strengthenspenalties for sex offenders, including mandatory 25-year- to-life prison sentences and lifetime electronic monitoring for offenders who are released from prison. Additional considerations include: revises sexual predator criteria; requires twice yearly reregistration by sexual predators; and provides criminal penalties for failing to reregister, failing to respond to address verification, failing to report or providing false information about sexual predators and harboring or concealing a sexual predator.

Earlier this month, the New Jersey Senate Law and Public Safety Committee advanced a bill that would make hindering the apprehension and prosecution of a sex offender attempting to evade registration and monitoring requirements under Megan’s Law a crime of the third degree with a mandatory minimum sentence of three years in prison. The bill, S-622, is sponsored by Senator Tom Kean, Jr. (R- Union) who is an avid supporter of the Jessica Lunsford Act. It is no surprise the legislation is derived from a portion of Jessica’s law considering Senator Kean’s support for the measure in the past. We applaud Senator Kean and members of the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee for taking this important step to protect kids from sex offenders.

Although it is encouraging to see the New Jersey Senate taking up a proposal to strengthen policies that make children safe, there is still more work to be done. The committee measure still needs approval from both chambers before it arrives at Governor Chris Christies’ desk. Which is why we encourage supporters of this bill to contact your legislator and ask them to vote for S-622.

It is also important to remember that the fight does not stop with New Jersey. We are battling the same fight in New York, and plan to work in Colorado, Idaho and Illinois next legislative session.

States Headed in the Right Track/Wrong Track

Yellow – States heading in the wrong direction

Purple – States heading in the right direction

Green – States that have passed Jessica’s Law

The map illustrates how far we have come while outlining the road ahead. Stop Child Predators is committed to passing all portions of Jessica’s Law in all 50 states. New Jersey is the latest partial victory in our mission, but there is still much more to be accomplished. Help us by spreading this message. Get 10 of your friends to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.