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1. What evidence does the U.S. Department of Justice have exactly?

Since 2004, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has funded a national computer system used by police in all 50 states to track predators online as they traffic in child abuse images, or child pornography.(1)  As a result, hundreds of thousands of U.S. suspects have been identified and added to law enforcement databases (2). Their locations have even been plotted on maps. DOJ has direct and daily access to this data.

2. What do you expect the Justice Department to do about it?

DOJ has the legal authority to investigate and prosecute these crimes, since using the Internet to traffic in child abuse images is a federal crime. DOJ could issue tens of thousands of federal subpoenas and make arrests immediately.

3. Why do you say DOJ knows where the child victims are?

Because experts estimate that between 33% and 80% of criminals who possess child pornography are also "hands-on" or contact offenders, with local victims. (3) Many leave clear clues online that they are sexually assaulting children. Going after child pornography traffickers is the easiest, quickest and most effective way to stop child sexual abuse on a massive scale.

4. Why do you say our government "refuses to take action?"

Less than 2% of child exploitation cases known to law enforcement are even being investigated, due to sheer lack of law enforcement resources.

PROTECT has testified before Congress about this four times since 2006. Since early 2009, we have briefed numerous DOJ officials in person, including Attorney General Eric Holder. Despite this, DOJ asked Congress for less money in 2010 than they had in 2009. Law enforcement is drowning in a sea of child exploitation, unable to rescue children in peril, and DOJ doesn't want that scandal revealed.

5. What impact do you think a petition will have?

A huge impact. The most important thing any American can do now is to force the truth out into the light of day. Only then can our public servants be held accountable for failing to take action. The children being hurt by child pornographers and Internet predators count on you to be their voice. PROTECT will make sure that voice is heard!

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Footnotes:

(1) This system has been known as the "ICAC Data Network," "Operation Fairplay," and the "Wyoming System."

(2) The ICAC Data Network contains millions of records on child exploitation suspects worldwide, including hundreds of thousands of unique computer serial numbers (as opposed to more numerous IP addresses) in the U.S. Estimates of U.S. child pornography traffickers and Internet predators in the "hundreds of thousands" range have been provided in numerous Congressional hearings by law enforcement experts, including ICAC investigators, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice (see petition site video, "Hear it from a Republican Leader").

(3) Sources: "Child-pornography possessors arrested in Internet-related crimes (2005, University of New Hampshire, Department of Justice, NCMEC); Self-Reported Contact Sexual Offenses by Participants in the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Sex Offender Treatment Program: Implications for Internet Sex Offenders (2000, Hernandez and Bourke).

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