UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
Intelligence Analyst Works to Save Kids
07/14/06
Jamie Konstas knew in
college that she wanted to work for the FBI.
She majored in a variety of disciplines and
interned in private industry, at the Department
of State, and at the non-profit National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children, where
she met a Supervisory Special Agent in the
FBI's Crimes Against Children Unit. "I
thought she had the coolest job in the world,"
Konstas says. That was eight years ago.
Today,
Jamie is an FBI Intelligence Analyst detailed
to the Virginia non-profit where she caught
her inspiration. Now, she says, "I have
the best job in the Bureau." We talked
to Jamie about her role in the Crimes
Against Children Unit, which is the operational
arm of the FBI's Innocence Lost National Initiative
to recover child victims of prostitution,
prosecute their exploiters, and reduce crimes
targeting children.
Q.
Jamie, can you describe a case you've worked
on?
Jamie: Sure. I recently worked on a major
child prostitution investigation called "Precious
Cargo," which centered on sex trafficking
in Pennsylvania, but reached as far away as
Florida, Michigan, and Oklahoma. We had intelligence
that showed Harrisburg was a hub for trafficking
and that minors and adult victims were being
prostituted at truck stops. I worked alongside
the Pennsylvania State Police, the Internal
Revenue Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office,
and the FBI's office in Harrisburg. The evidence
we gathered exposed the massive scope of the
prostitution ring. Last December, a Federal
Grand Jury returned indictments against 21
individuals on charges of sex trafficking
of children, money laundering, and conspiracy.
Q.
What do you do specifically as an Intelligence
Analyst?
Jamie: I work with law enforcement officers
around the nation to locate missing children.
I provide analytical support in child abduction
cases such as non-family abductions, international
parental kidnapping cases, and parental kidnapping
cases. For cases involving child prostitution
I connect the dots and help agencies build
substantial cases against the pimps responsible
for their exploitation. It's not easy. Pimps
travel a lot and use a number of aliases.
In the "Precious Cargo" case, I
analyzed tens of thousands of records linking
pimps and victims in Harrisburg to other cases
around the country. On a national level, I
seek to identify trends and patterns to assist
in investigating all crimes against children.
Q.
Do you travel much?
Jamie: A lot! I'm out of the office probably
one week out of every month. I travel to field
offices around the country to work on cases
and brief them on how transnational child
prostitution rings may be affecting their
regions. I also work with Interpol on international
parental kidnapping and sex tourism cases,
so that has taken me to conferences in Sri
Lanka, France and Canada.
Q.
What drew you to this line of work?
Jamie: I'm very passionate about investigating
and preventing crimes against children. Knowing
that we are working cases where children are
recovered and pimps are prosecuted every day
is what makes it a great job. It's not for
everyone. We all know what we're getting into
and you have to be able to balance it. You
have to be able to leave it at the door, which
is hard. A positive disposition helps!
Footnote:
The National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children in May honored Jamie Konstas along
with Pennsylvania State Trooper David E. Olweiler,
IRS Special Agent Christopher D. Kegerreis,
and FBI Special Agent Mike Beaver for their
roles in the Precious Cargo investigation.
Details
Links:
Working
for the FBI stories | National
Crackdown on Child Prostitution | Crimes
Against Children Stories | Crimes
Against Children Program
