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The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) serves as a clearing house for information regarding missing, abused, and exploited children.
While NCMEC assists with missing children cases, it is my understanding that most of their resources is dedicated toward human trafficking and child sexual abuse media (child pornography).
NCMEC maintains a file fingerprint database of nearly 200,000,000 child sexual abuse images and videos. The data pours in from all over the world. NCMEC generates tips to local agencies about predators producing, possessing, or distributing CSAM.
Predators are typically classified into three groups:
Pedophile - a person who has a strong, persistent sexual interest in prepubescent children, often in the age range of 0 to 11 years of age.
Hebephile - a person who has a strong, persistent sexual interest in children 11 to 14 years of age.
Ephebophile - a person who has a strong, persistent sexual interest in adolescent children 15 to 18 years of age.
Those that collect, possess, distribute, or produce child CSAM are the target of specialized teams of law enforcement.
What exactly is child sexual abuse material?
Depending on the state, it can be an image or video of a child simply exposing her breasts to the graphic depiction of a child being sexually molested and/or raped.
Under Federal law the definition of child pornography:
https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos/citizens-guide-us-federal-law-child-pornography
In more practical terms, if an image or video depicts a real child being raped, or exposing their genitals in a sexual manner, it is unlawful to possess under Federal law. There are very specific legal exceptions that allow some predators to get away with possessing child erotica. I will not list them here for obvious reasons.
If the exploitive media possessed, distributed, or produced does not meet the definition of CSAM, then it may be considered child erotica, which in many states is not illegal!
The horror of the media produced by these predators is beyond a sane person's imagination.
The comments they make in the videos and the brutality of some of the acts is beyond comprehension. Investigators do not listen to the audio unless absolutely necessary.
The abuse and production of media can go on for years and can be for personal pleasure, monetary reasons, or as a means to trade or barter for other CSAM.
Investigators and prosecutors in many jurisdictions have moved away from self-produced (adolescent) cases, unless their is a reason to believe that the child produced it for an adult or it was distributed online.
Investigators have seen predator offenders have terabytes of child abuse material and child erotica. Some possessing over a million images and videos.
This problem is real, the victims are often voiceless, or being actively suppressed. I will continue this in a follow up post.
While NCMEC assists with missing children cases, it is my understanding that most of their resources is dedicated toward human trafficking and child sexual abuse media (child pornography).
NCMEC maintains a file fingerprint database of nearly 200,000,000 child sexual abuse images and videos. The data pours in from all over the world. NCMEC generates tips to local agencies about predators producing, possessing, or distributing CSAM.
Predators are typically classified into three groups:
Pedophile - a person who has a strong, persistent sexual interest in prepubescent children, often in the age range of 0 to 11 years of age.
Hebephile - a person who has a strong, persistent sexual interest in children 11 to 14 years of age.
Ephebophile - a person who has a strong, persistent sexual interest in adolescent children 15 to 18 years of age.
Those that collect, possess, distribute, or produce child CSAM are the target of specialized teams of law enforcement.
What exactly is child sexual abuse material?
Depending on the state, it can be an image or video of a child simply exposing her breasts to the graphic depiction of a child being sexually molested and/or raped.
Under Federal law the definition of child pornography:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2256...any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor (someone under 18 years of age). Visual depictions include photographs, videos, digital or computer generated images indistinguishable from an actual minor, and images created, adapted, or modified, but appear to depict an identifiable, actual minor. Undeveloped film, undeveloped videotape, and electronically stored data that can be converted into a visual image of child pornography are also deemed illegal visual depictions under federal law.
Notably, the legal definition of sexually explicit conduct does not require that an image depict a child engaging in sexual activity. A picture of a naked child may constitute illegal child pornography if it is sufficiently sexually suggestive. Additionally, the age of consent for sexual activity in a given state is irrelevant; any depiction of a minor under 18 years of age engaging in sexually explicit conduct is illegal.
https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos/citizens-guide-us-federal-law-child-pornography
In more practical terms, if an image or video depicts a real child being raped, or exposing their genitals in a sexual manner, it is unlawful to possess under Federal law. There are very specific legal exceptions that allow some predators to get away with possessing child erotica. I will not list them here for obvious reasons.
If the exploitive media possessed, distributed, or produced does not meet the definition of CSAM, then it may be considered child erotica, which in many states is not illegal!
The horror of the media produced by these predators is beyond a sane person's imagination.
The comments they make in the videos and the brutality of some of the acts is beyond comprehension. Investigators do not listen to the audio unless absolutely necessary.
The abuse and production of media can go on for years and can be for personal pleasure, monetary reasons, or as a means to trade or barter for other CSAM.
Investigators and prosecutors in many jurisdictions have moved away from self-produced (adolescent) cases, unless their is a reason to believe that the child produced it for an adult or it was distributed online.
Investigators have seen predator offenders have terabytes of child abuse material and child erotica. Some possessing over a million images and videos.
This problem is real, the victims are often voiceless, or being actively suppressed. I will continue this in a follow up post.