More than 4,000 child exploitation cases were initiated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) this fiscal year, resulting in thousands of arrests and the identification of more than 1,000 victims, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.
The data represents an uptick in cases involving the exploitation of children, in part due to how easily offenders can spread graphic images of children. HSI agents and investigators initiated 4,224 such cases that resulted in 3,771 arrests and the identification of 1,066 victims.
The recent data, which covers cases from Oct. 1, 2018, to Sept. 30, 2019, were higher overall when compared to previous years. The past two fiscal years saw roughly 4,000 cases, but fewer arrests and fewer victims identified.
“With the ‘dark web’ on there, the content is becoming more prevalent and more horrific,” Matt Wright, chief of the Child Exploitation Investigations Unit at Homeland Security Investigations, told AP.
President Donald Trump, who has made combating human trafficking a focal point of his administration, signed into law the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act and Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, or SESTA-FOSTA in 2018. The legislation halts the shielding of website operators from state criminal charges or civil liability if they facilitate sex ads or prostitution.
Sex-trafficking website Backpage.com—the largest human-trafficking portal in the United States—was taken down by the FBI in 2018. The report found that those two actions—the signing into law of the legislation and the closure of the website—ultimately led to the drop in demand.
Childsafe.AI CEO Rob Spectre previously told The Epoch Times that the underground marketplace for sex trafficking is now more like the “the Wild West” rather than the “high-quality, well-groomed advertising channel” it was.
“What we are seeing overall is an evident drop in demand ... a number of these operators are struggling to continue operating their services,” he said. “There is also a significant influx of scam advertising.”
Facebook has talked about plans to provide better privacy to users by introducing encryption to its messaging services, but lawmakers have expressed concern that the company’s new direction will make it harder to combat child abuse.
So far this year, at least three states—California, New York, and New Jersey—have signed similar legislation. Most victims who experience sexual abuse in their childhood don’t disclose their trauma until adulthood, multiple studies have indicated.
“Legislators are starting to understand that something has to be done,” Sean Holihan, policy manager at the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), told The Epoch Times in October.
