By: PR Newswire
Apr. 24, 2007

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 24 — The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) today announced that it has just received its 475,000th report to its CyberTipline. These leads and tips have led to the arrest and successful prosecution of thousands of offenders.

An estimated 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys will be sexually victimized in some way before they reach the age of 18. The CyberTipline provides a vital reporting mechanism to get leads into the hands of law enforcement.

CyberTipline reports are received in seven categories. However, more than 89 percent of the reports received were regarding child pornography. In recent years, NCMEC has observed a consistent growth in child pornography, which is attributed to its commercial viability as well as the popularity of peer-to- peer networking sites, and widespread use of new technology such as digital cameras and videos.

The statistics surrounding child pornography are alarming. An estimated 58% of children used in child pornography today are prepubescent and 6% are infants. NCMEC is seeing an alarming trend in which victims are becoming younger and younger, and images are much more violent.

NCMEC is also seeing an increase in reports of online solicitation of children. Reports of online enticement of children for sexual acts represented the second largest number of reports received on the CyberTipline, and account for 5% of total leads received. During last week alone, 268 reports of online enticement were received, compared to 72 reports during the same week last year. An estimated 1 in 7 youth will receive a sexual solicitation over the Internet.

The CyberTipline is mandated by Congress and was created in 1998. It serves as the nation’s “9-1-1″ for reporting sexual exploitation of children. It is the national reporting mechanism for reporting incidents including the possession, manufacture and/or distribution of child pornography; online enticement of children for sexual acts; child sexual molestation; sex tourism involving children; prostitution of children; unsolicited obscene material sent to a child; and misleading domain names.

Reports to the CyberTipline come from multiple sources including the general public and Electronic Service Providers (ESPs), such as Internet Service Providers, wireless companies and other technology companies that provide access to the Internet. Each lead is analyzed and developed by NCMEC and then forwarded to the appropriate federal, state, local or international law enforcement agency for investigation. The vast majority of the reports are received online through a special website: http://www.cybertipline.com/.

Passage of new legislation in 1998 now requires all ESPs to immediately report child pornography found on their servers to the CyberTipline. While many registered ESPs do submit reports to the CyberTipline, fewer than 400 of the thousands that exist are actually complying with federal law. Those ESPs that are sending reports to NCMEC have played an important role in increasing the number of child victims who are identified, as well as the number of offenders who are apprehended and brought to justice. However, the failure of all ESPs to comply with federal law has placed thousands of children in danger and created opportunities for criminals to avoid detection and prosecution.

“The CyberTipline is one of the most powerful tools available to enforce a zero tolerance policy regarding child sexual exploitation, including child pornography on the Internet,” said Ernie Allen, NCMEC President and CEO. “These numbers are staggering, and yet we know there are an even larger number of incidents of child sexual exploitation that go unreported. Anyone suspecting child exploitation of any type is urged to report it to the CyberTipline.”

About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC’s congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 475,000 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement with more than 127,700 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 110,200 children.

For more information about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its website at http://www.missingkids.com/.

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
CONTACT: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Communications
Department, +1-703-837-6111, media@ncmec.org

Web site: http://www.missingkids.com/
http://www.cybertipline.com/