Campaign Educates Parents, Targets Potential Online Predators 

ST. LOUIS – The Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway today unveiled an innovative national public service announcement (PSA) campaign to educate parents about the potential dangers that their children face online and, for the first time, warns potential online predators that exploiting a child online is a serious federal offense. 

The four new PSAs were recently announced in Washington, DC and developed jointly by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and Project Safe Childhood partners iKeepSafe, Hispanic Communications Network as well as Missouri based Internet Safety initiative, INOBTR (“I Know Better”). 

“One of our highest priorities at the Department of Justice is combating the sexual exploitation of children,” said OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores. “Our message to parents is–know where your kids go on the Internet, and to would-be predators we say–your illegal activity will have lifelong consequences.” 

“Our office is dedicated to the prosecution of those who possess, distribute and produce child pornography. The children being molested in these images and videos are exploited each time the images of their abuse are distributed and viewed,” said U.S. Attorney Hanaway. “The United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Missouri is one of the top prosecutors of child exploitation crimes in the nation, according to an annual Department of Justice tally of caseloads at each of the 93 U.S. Attorney’s offices. During 2008, this office will have prosecuted 70 child exploitation cases, making it second only to the Central District of California.” 

iKeepSafe developed one of the PSAs, entitled “Know Where They Go,” to highlight the risks children face on the Internet. The PSA, illustrates how, in the digital world, children can travel anywhere, and why it is important that parents monitor what sites their children visit and who they are talking to. Elements of this campaign include television, print, radio and Web advertisements. For more on this PSA, please go to www.KnowWhereTheyGo.org. 

INOBTR created a PSA entitled “Exploiting a Minor Is a Major Offense.” This cutting-edge campaign is designed to put potential online predators on warning that exploiting a child online is a serious federal offense. Elements of this campaign include television, movie theaters, print, radio and Web banners. For more on this PSA, please go to www.stopanonlinepredator.org. 

The Hispanic Communications Network (HCN) produced two separate series of Spanish-language PSAs for television, radio, print and the Web. The first targets parents, while the second targets potential predators. The potential predator PSA seeks to inform potential offenders or individuals looking for child pornography images online or attempting communication with minors that law enforcement is actively pursuing them, and that their illegal activity could have lifetime consequences. Like the INOBTR PSA, it gives a compelling message to stop and think about the consequences of this serious federal crime. The Spanish-language information can be found on www.ProtegelosAhora.org for the parent campaign and www.NoTeArruines.org for the potential predator campaign. In addition, HCN produced an English-language short video for online distribution. The video, or Webisode, illustrates the dangers children face online and urges parents to become informed and involved, and to supervise their children’s Internet and mobile phone activity. 

Launched in May 2006, Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department’s Criminal Division, and Internet Crimes Against Children task forces, 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. 

For more information about Project Safe Childhood and the public service announcements, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. 

United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway 
Eastern District of Missouri 

CONTACT: Jan Diltz 
PHONE: 314.539.7719 
www.doj.gov/usao/moe 
FAX: 314.539.2309