One Day of CSAM Headlines in America

Jan 14

When communicating about the immensity of the child sexual abuse material problem, we often cite statistics about the volume of trafficking in CSAM and pornography, the percentage of juveniles that are coerced to engage in “sexting” (often involving images that meet legal definitions of CSAM or “child pornography,” as it is still referred to in many criminal laws), or the number of arrests for CSAM. While such figures are alarming, they also fail to convey the horrific content and context of CSAM cases. The vastness of such numbers can also make them difficult to grasp except as abstractions.

Those engaged in combating the sex trade generally, and sexual exploitation of children in particular, see a flow of cases day in and day out that only be described as relentless. To convey magnitude of what we are fighting, we offer a sample of headlines about American CSAM cases from just one 24-hour period, spanning January 8th and 9th. You may see the report for each case by clicking on the headlines below.

It is important to understand that these cases represent only a very small fraction of the actual breath of child exploitation occurring every day. The vast majority of cases are not reported to police, and of those, most do not result in arrests, and of those, not all become news reports. To understand the true scope of the problem, imagine this list multiplied many times over. Now image reading every single article of a list 100 times the size of this one, every single day, 365 days per year, for decades. That is what we are up against.

Our direct services program staff at Street Grace, many thousands of other service providers, and others from law enforcement and social services engage the victims of cases like these every day, not as headlines or news reports, but as people who have experienced great harm, and need – and deserve – support in trauma recovery. They also deserve justice, which can only happen when every person who sexually abuses and exploits others is apprehended and prevented from committing further crimes. They also deserve for the parts of this problem that become illicit commerce, such as online platforms that support the conveyance of CSAM and pornographers who produce or solicit the content for profit, to be put out of business and held accountable in criminal courts.

· Middletown, NJ: NJ Man Sentenced for Promoting Child Sexual Abuse Material on the Dark Web

· Abilene, TX: Abilene Independent School District Band Director Charged with Possession of Child Pornography

· Rogers, AR: Report of Sexual Assault Leads Police to Hundreds of CSAM Files on Rogers Man's Phone

· Eros, LA: Jackson Parish Man Charged with Over 500 Counts of Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

· Lake County, IL: Electronic Detection K9s Assist in Child Exploitation, “Child Pornography” Arrest

· New Orleans, LA: Teacher Arrested on Charges of Possessing Child Porn

· Abilene, TX: Texas DPS Special Agents Arrest Abilene Man on “Child Pornography” Charges

· Boaz, AL: Boaz Man Arrested for Soliciting Nude Images from Child Online in Multi-State Undercover Operation

· Spartanburg, SC: South Carolina Man Admitted to Buying Child Sexual Abuse Material on App, Deputies Say

· Will County, IL: Child Pornography Defendant Arrested, Attacked 2 Motorists on Caton Farm Road

· Batesville, AR: Batesville Postmaster Charged in Child Exploitation Investigation, Nude Pictures Exchanged between 49-Year-Old-Man and Teenage Girl

· Sugar City, ID: Sugar City Man Arrested for 10 Counts of Possession of Child Pornography