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Child Pornography
By the mid-1980's, the trafficking of child pornography within the United States
had been almost completely eradicated through a series of successful campaigns
waged by law enforcement. Child pornographers had become lonely and hunted
individuals. Producing child abuse images was both difficult and expensive,
and reproducing images was equally difficult and expensive. Purchasing and
trading such images was extremely risky. Anonymous distribution and receipt
was not possible and it was difficult for pedophiles to find and interact
with each other. Unfortunately, technology has changed the situation.
Producing child abuse images has now become easy and inexpensive. The
Internet allows images and digitized movies to be reproduced and
disseminated to tens of thousands of individuals at the click of a button.
The distribution and receipt of such images can be done almost anonymously.
As a result, child pornography is readily available through virtually every
Internet technology (web sites, email, instant messaging/ICQ, Internet
Relay Chat (IRC), newsgroups/bulletin boards, and peer-to-peer). The
technological ease, lack of expense, and anonymity in obtaining and
distributing child pornography has resulted in an explosion in the
availability, accessibility, and volume of child pornography.
CEOS works with the 93 United States Attorney offices around the country
and investigative agencies to vigorously combat this growing problem. By
maintaining a coordinated, national-level law enforcement focus, including
coordinating nationwide and international investigations and prosecutions,
CEOS works to deter the production, distribution and possession of child
pornography by aggressively investigating and prosecuting of these crimes.
Additionally, CEOS works with law enforcement to identify victims used to
produce child pornography with the goal of rescuing the victims and
preventing continued abuse of these children.
Reporting
Child Pornography
To report an incident involving the possession,
distribution, receipt, or production of child pornography, go to the
website operated by the National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Your report will
be forwarded to a law enforcement agency for investigation and action.
U.S. Department of Justice,
Criminal Division ° Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS)
1400 New York Avenue,
6th Floor ° Washington,
D.C. 20530
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Policy | Criminal Division Home Page | DOJ Home Page
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