FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AG

TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2007 (202) 514-2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales

Highlights Department
Efforts to Combat Sexual Abuse and
Exploitation of Children
in The Northern District of Illinois
Announces New Public Service Advertisement
Campaign Targeting
Teen Girls with the Message “Think Before You
Post”
CHICAGO – Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today joined U.S. Attorney
Patrick J. Fitzgerald of the Northern District of Illinois and Ernie Allen, president
and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, to highlight the
ongoing efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as community
leaders, in combating the sexual abuse and exploitation of children in the Northern
District of Illinois. Attorney General Gonzales and Mr. Allen also unveiled a joint
public service advertisement (PSA) campaign, developed in partnership with the Ad
Council, designed to educate teens about the potential dangers of online predators
and sharing personal information online.

“The Internet is one of the greatest technological advances of our time, but it also
makes it alarmingly easy for sexual predators to produce and trade images of the
graphic sexual assault of children,” stated Attorney General Gonzales. “The
Department of Justice, along with federal, state and local law enforcement, as well
as community leaders, remains committed to bringing sexual predators to justice,
while educating communities about how to prevent these crimes.”

Launched in May 2006, Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative designed

to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys
Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better
locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as
well as identify and rescue victims. In 2006, the Department of Justice prosecuted
1,543 cases involving the sexual exploitation or abuse of children.

In a case announced in Chicago last year, 27 defendants were charged as a result of

an international undercover investigation that infiltrated an Internet chat room where
some defendants allegedly transmitted live sexual molestations of minors. In a
separate case last year, a LaSalle County, Ill., man was sentenced to serve 100 years
in prison for manufacturing child pornography involving three minors and other
sexual exploitation crimes. Other recent federal prosecutions include convictions for
interstate travel to engage in sexual activity with a minor, enticement of a minor to
engage in sexual activity, sexual exploitation of a minor, and offenses related to
child pornography. Defendants in these cases have received sentences as high as 25
and 30 years in prison. “We are pleased that the investigative expertise of law
enforcement agencies across northern Illinois has allowed us to prosecute cases that
have disrupted international networks of online predators, dismantled child
pornography rings, and removed children from situations of danger,” said U.S.
Attorney Fitzgerald. “We are dismayed, however, that we face an ever-growing
challenge to protect children from sexual exploitation. We will continue to work
alongside our state, local and federal partners to safeguard children from becoming
victims and to punish and deter criminal exploitation of minors.”

Project Safe Childhood partners for the Northern District of Illinois include the
Illinois Attorney General’s Office; the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office; U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the FBI; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service;
the U.S. Marshals Service; the U.S. Secret Service; the Cook County Sheriff’s
Department; the Chicago Police Department; the Illinois State Police; the State’s
Attorney’s Offices in Du Page, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, La Salle, Lake, Lee,
Stephenson and Will Counties; and the Naperville Police Department, together with
numerous local police and county sheriff’s departments across the 18-county
Northern District of Northern Illinois.

In addition to participating in the law enforcement roundtable, Attorney General

Gonzales and Ernie Allen also unveiled a new series of PSAs regarding online
sexual exploitation. The ads, which were developed jointly by the U.S. Department
of Justice, NCMEC, and the Ad Council, are designed to educate teenage girls about
the potential dangers of posting and sharing personal information online. The Think
Before You Post campaign reminds teens that “anything you post online, anyone
can see, family, friends and even not-so-friendly people.”

“This joint effort with the Department of Justice and the Ad Council directly
responds to one of the most pressing issues of online safety,” stated Mr. Allen.
“Recent studies show that an increased percentage of youth Internet users are
posting personal information and photos online. We believe this PSA campaign will
fill the vital roll of arming teenagers and their families with the resources and
knowledge to avoid the risks associated with that behavior.”
Popular social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Sconex make it
easier for teens to post and share personal information, pictures, and videos, which
may make them more vulnerable to online predators. Teenage girls are particularly
at risk of online sexual exploitation. A recent study by University of New
Hampshire researchers for NCMEC found that of the approximately one in seven
youth who received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet, 70 percent
were girls.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 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 419,400 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has
assisted law enforcement with more than 125,200 missing child cases, resulting in
the recovery of more than 107,600 children. For more information about NCMEC,
call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its Web site at
http://www.missingkids.com

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit

http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov. For more information about the Think Before
You Post campaign, please visit http://www.cybertipline.com.

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