Cyber Crimes Center
Online resources to prevent child exploitation
Homeland Security Investigations' (HSI) Child Exploitation Investigations Unit maintains a close working relationship with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the fight against child exploitation. One individual from the unit serves as a liaison with the center, and the unit helps disseminate information the center receives via its CyberTipline to more than 40 countries across the globe.
In August 2011, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received information about an individual using an email account to transmit child pornography and cloud technology to store the images. The tip ignited an extensive investigation that included law enforcement personnel from two countries. Mexico's Secretariat of Public Security and the Office of the General Prosecutor, with assistance from HSI, investigated the case. In May 2012, Mauro Rodrigo Hernandez of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, was a sentenced by a federal judge to 29 years in federal prison for possession, transmission and production of child pornography. He was also ordered to pay a nearly $16,000 fine. Hernandez's sentence is the longest one in Mexican history for child pornography charges.
Tracking down predators like Hernandez requires assistance from the public. That why HSI's Child Exploitation Investigations Unit wants you to know how to prevent and report instances of child exploitation. Our partners at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children have created the NetSmartz educational outreach program to do just that. Visit one of the topics below to learn more.
NetSmartz Educational Outreach Program Links
