sexual exploitation of children over the internet - Meldpunt ...

majority of investigations — approximately 70 percent — take place at the state or locallevel. For this reason, Committee staff also interviewed several state ICAC Task Forceinvestigators.Interviews and meetings with law enforcement officials and agents revealed severalkey factors which have contributed both to the proliferation of child abuse images on theInternet as well as the obstacles law enforcement agents face when they try to identify theindividuals who possess and distribute these images. First, and perhaps most daunting, isthe number of child abuse images on the Internet. As mentioned previously, UnitedStates law enforcement estimates that there are approximately 3.5 million known childpornography images online. In addition, the individuals who trade and distribute childpornography images use sophisticated technology and other means to evade identificationby law enforcement agents. For example, law enforcement agents said that individualswho download images can use “anonymizers” or encryption technology which makes itdifficult to find the individuals, much less prove that they possessed or downloaded theimages. Law enforcement agents also stated that most Internet Service Providers oftendo not retain Internet Protocol, or IP, address data for a sufficient period of time.Without this data, law enforcement agents are unable to identify the individual at acertain IP address who has downloaded or distributed child pornography. Further, lawenforcement agents are concerned that the response time of ISPs to law enforcementinquiries or subpoenas seeking the identity of a customer assigned to a particular IPaddress varies and is not always timely. Dr. Frank Kardasz, a member of the ArizonaICAC Task Force, testified that a two-day response time to law enforcement subpoenasfor IP address information would be ideal.Law enforcement officials also explained that the payment schemes used bycommercial child pornography websites are becoming increasingly complex andsophisticated, again, as a method to evade detection. One example cited by lawenforcement officials and by NCMEC is the increasing use of digital currencies as amethod of payment on commercial child pornography websites. Payment by digitalcurrencies makes it more difficult for law enforcement agents to trace the payment, andthus, the source.In addition to examining how law enforcement officials investigate and prosecutethose who exploit children over the Internet, Committee staff reviewed and analyzedexisting federal law with regard to criminal penalties for possession, creation, anddistribution of child pornography. A review of federal and state law showed that whilepenalties for federal charges can be quite severe — for example, the federal sentence fordistribution of child pornography is up to 20 years, with a five year minimum mandatorysentence, per image — there is great disparity among state penalties for crimes involvingchild pornography. Because the vast majority of these online child sexual exploitationcases are prosecuted on the state level, it is imperative that all states consider adoptingstrict sentencing schemes for these crimes and laws that clearly address the onlineenvironment in which these crimes are now committed. For example, all states shouldconsider adopting laws that make clear that sexual solicitation of a person believed to bea minor online is a felony offense, with automatic jail time. In addition, Committee staff16