Law Enforcement Officials Meet In San Jose To Battle Child Exploitation
SAN JOSE (KCBS) - In an unprecedented effort, law enforcement officials from around the country are gathering in San Jose this week to bandy about ideas on preventing child exploitation.
The Strategy Conference of Combating Child Exploitation kicked off at the San Jose Convention Center on Tuesday. Melinda Haag, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, said unfortunately, technology has made it easier for child predators to find victims.
KCBS' Matt Bigler Reports:
"It gives predators easier access to children and it gives them a way to disseminate the evidence of their abusive children, which is child pornography," she said.
But cops are also using technology to catch the bad guys. San Jose Police Sergeant Randy Schriefer said that can include posing as children online and even monitoring porn transfers. Last year alone, the department served over 500 search warrants.
"That's a pretty good impact. And you're only talking about one section of the region," said Schriefer. "There's 61 task forces and 30,000 investigators across the country."
It's estimated that there are at least 50,000 child predators online at any given time.
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