U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) has introduced legislation that he said will make it easier to identify and rescue children who are victims of online sexual abuse.
The Renewed Hope Act would allow the Child Exploitation Investigations Unit to hire at least 200 additional experts; computer forensics and criminal analysts who can identify victims from the photos posted of them online.
The bill is bipartisan and has been introduced in the House and Senate. Blumenthal said he hopes it will pass by the end of the legislative session in January.
“There is an urgency to identifying and rescuing and protecting these victims and survivors,” Blumenthal said. “These kinds of images on the internet stay with these children for their whole lives. They're unerasable.”
“The only ones interested in them are the money makers who are profiting from exploiting these kids, and the deranged people will find some interest in them,” Blumenthal said.
The bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Representatives Laurel Lee (R-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), and U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX).
It has been endorsed by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the Tim Tebow Foundation, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the ChildFund International, the Child Rescue Coalition, and more.
Nicole Taylor, chief administrator of children’s behavioral health at the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, said the majority of children who are exploited live with their parents.
“Connecticut DCF receives approximately 300 cases per year of possible commercial sexual exploitation of children, many times starting on the internet,” Taylor said.
To contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Cyber Tip-line, go to report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-843-5678.