The experts say it's time to declare war on on-line child pornography, that this is happening so frequently, they have got to crack down immediately. So clearly, this is a huge, huge issue that Congress and this administration is worried about. The Justice Department says that they have protected two kids in this particular case. Justin says there are hundreds of kids out there who are vulnerable. How is it that when you have all the information of 1,500 people, potential predators, that there have only been two arrested? The response that I received was that this is an ongoing investigation, one official saying, To say we're not doing anything, that's wrong. O'DONNELL: Well, I asked many Justice Department and FBI officials that question today. How is the Justice Department responding to criticism that so few have actually been caught? Since he got out of the business and has been drug-free, he has been cooperating with the Justice Department, has turned over 1,500 names, but they tell me tonight that there have only been two arrests-Rita.ĬOSBY: You know, Norah, you talked about just two arrests out of all those names handed over. He made hundreds of thousands of dollars. And Justin alone says that he was solicited by more than 1,000 men. Compare that to on-line music, which makes only $3 billion. O'DONNELL: Now Rita, Internet child porn is a booming business, $20 billion worldwide. But what became obvious, as I disclosed in my article, is that our federal law enforcement effort to combat this threat appears to be hobbled by fractured responsibilities, bureaucratic mindsets and a simple inability to respond. KURT EICHENWALD, “NEW YORK TIMES”: I was dumbfounded by the willingness of on-line pedophiles to identify themselves, to publicly discuss their crimes in non-protected, publicly accessible sites and chat rooms. Within each of your congressional districts, I guarantee you there are children who have used their webcams to appear naked on line, and I guarantee you there are also children in your district on the Internet right now being contacted and seduced by on-line sexual predators. There are hundreds of kids in the United States alone who are right now wrapped up in this horror. This is not the story of a few bad kids whose parents paid no attention. My experience is not as isolated as you may hope. Within minutes, they found Justin Berry when he got his first webcam when he was 13 years old.Īnd I want to play a little bit more from this hearing, from Justin Berry and also from the “New York Times” reporter, Kurt Eichenwald, who uncovered Justin and today brought him before Congress.īERRY: I repeatedly attempted to pull away from this sick business, but each time, I fell back into this criminal world that had first seduced me and eventually controlled me. It puts your child's image on the Internet, and then pedophiles are looking for that. All the experts said that, that this webcam is just a portal. Federal law enforcement officials estimate that there are some 50,000 sexual predators at any moment roaming the Internet.Īnd so Justin, who was a victim, spoke out today in Congress in order to bring attention to this issue, and also, he said, to try and protect America's children, especially to point out that no teenager should have a webcam in their room. NORAH O'DONNELL, NBC CORRESPONDENT: Rita, it is a sick and sordid world on line, and there are digital stalkers preying on this Internet, looking for teens like Justin and other children.
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