Putting Victims First. That’s the message that Richard W. Brown, the CEO of Project VIC International impressed upon me when I had the opportunity to speak to him about how and why he helped found the non-profit organization which helps law enforcement agencies around the world fight child exploitation. 

Child pornography- more properly identified as Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). It’s appalling that there is a need for a definition for this kind of material. U.S. Federal Law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor- meaning any person less than 18 years old. 

The numbers surrounding pornographic images of children, and the child abuse that creates it, are so staggering that it’s difficult not to be disheartened. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), their cyber tipline received over 42.9 million reports by November 2018. NCMEC had also reviewed over 267 million images and videos, and identified over 15,800 victims of online child exploitation and abuse.

As communities search for new ways to employ wounded, injured, or ill special operations veterans, there's a new federal government program that offers hope. 

The program which provides financial support for communities seeking to further increase their effectiveness in the fight against child exploitation is run by the U.S. Department of Justice. Communities will benefit in two key ways: 

1. Employ wounded veterans paid for via federal grant money
2. Help communities fight the ever growing battle to stop child exploitation

The U.S. Department of Justice launched the ICAC Task Force program in 1998 to help law enforcement learn how to prevent, combat and investigate Internet Crimes Against Children.  ICAC Task Force training is often held annually within regions across the United States. 

The 2020 ICAC conferences are announced each year and include training and events held in:

Investigators can leverage ADF digital forensic software on the front-line to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases

When investigating crimes against children cases, Project Vic data sets and Digital Evidence Investigator^® (DEI) goes hand in hand. DEI gives investigators and examiners the ability to categorize image and video media fast -- which is paramount in the fight against child exploitation. Whether you are and ICAC, CAC, or affiliate task force DEI is the best tool to help you solve internet crimes against children. In this short 6-minute video, ADF's digital forensic trainer is going to show you how easy it is to add Project Vic datasets or hashes to a Search Profile.

Of all the investigations that a law enforcement agency may undertake, there may be none as difficult to deal with as crimes perpetrated against minors. The proliferation of online child exploitation material continues to be an issue worldwide, from child pornography to the facilitation of human trafficking. Luckily, investigators are not having to combat this problem alone thanks to industry solutions like those provided by ADF Solutions and the organizations below.  

Following the recent ICAC Task Force Commanders Meeting, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program announced the date and location of the 2019 National Law Enforcement Training on Child Exploitation. 

The U.S. Department of Justice launched the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program (ICAC Program) in 1998 as part of a national strategy to combat and prevent child exploitation.  ICAC Task Force training is often held annually within regions across the United States.  While 2019 dates have not yet been published, here's a list of 2018 ICAC conferences:

The Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, along with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Child Abduction Response Team (CART) and Offender Registration and Enforcement once again hosted the Florida ICAC Training Symposium. 

With eleven (11) out-of-the-box Search Profiles inside Digital Evidence Investigator^® (DEI), the ADF Digital Forensic team has created software that enables investigators and forensic examiners to obtain the digital evidence needed in a wide variety of evidence collection situations. 

ADF is helping stop crimes against children by providing law enforcement with the right tools and training to combat internet crimes against children.  As part of our mission to help fight child exploitation, ADF is a returning sponsor of the Crimes Against Children Conference.  If you are attending, join ADF Digital Forensic Specialists (Rich Frawley), as he leads a lecture and lab training for participating law enforcement officers:

• On-Scene Digital Investigation Best Practices: From CyberTip to Court Ready Paperwork (Lecture)
• Solving Crimes Against Children with ADF Digital Evidence Investigator^® (Hands-on Labs)

Each participant will learn digital forensic best practices for child exploitation cases and receive an extended trial of our DEI software. 

ADF Solutions, provided hands-on lab training for digital forensic investigators and examiners from throughout the United States at the National Law Enforcement Training on Child Exploitation (NLETC) Conference held in in Atlanta, Georgia this week.  The conference seeks to grow and expand the education of law enforcement officers, police investigators and prosecutors in an effort to promote best practices for investigating Internet Crimes Against Children.  

ADF sponsored the 2017 Florida ICAC Training Symposium which was sponsored by the FL ICAC Task Force, along with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Child Abduction Response Team (CART) and Offender Registration and Enforcement. 

The three day event, held in Tampa, Florida is an annual event designed to expand the efforts and knowledge base of law enforcement investigators and prosecutors by providing highly specialized training focused on investigating and prosecuting technology-facilitated crimes against children.

ADF will sponsor the Northwest Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Conference. Microsoft has partnered with ICAC to host the event which is designed to expand the efforts and knowledge base of law enforcement investigators, digital forensic examiners, and prosecutors. The event will provide highly specialized lab and lecture based training focused on investigating and prosecuting technology-facilitated crimes against children.  Anticipated curriculum will include both child sexual exploitation as well as human trafficking topics and will consist of lectures, case studies, computer labs and exhibitor workshops.

ADF will sponsor the Crimes Against Children Conference which provides practical and interactive instruction to those fighting crimes against children and helping children heal. Attendees include government and nonprofit agencies in law enforcement, child protective services, and victims of crime.