Trinity Mount Ministries - DOJ - PROJECT SAFE CHILDHOOD - Justice News - UPDATE - 08/28/2020

PROJECT SAFE CHILDHOOD

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims.

JUSTICE NEWS

August 28, 2020

Press Release

Iowa Man Admits Producing and Possessing Child Pornography

August 28, 2020

Press Release

Luzerne County Man Sentenced To Five Years’ Imprisonment For Receiving Child Pornography

August 28, 2020

Press Release

Dennis Port Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

August 27, 2020

Press Release

Quapaw Man Sentenced to Life for Sexually Abusing a Child Under 12

August 27, 2020

Press Release

South Kingstown Man Ordered to Home Confinement on Child Pornography Charges

RESOURCES

Amber Alert

iKeepSafe

INOBTR ("I Know Better")

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Office of Educational Technology Internet Safety

Read the Project Safe Childhood Fact Sheet »

Featured Videos

View the Project Safe Childhood Video Page »

Trinity Mount Ministries - NCMEC - Active Missing Children Posters / Active AMBER Alerts - UPDATE - 08/17/2020

Missing Children Posters Below

Active AMBER Alerts

Name	Missing From	Issued For	Alert Date
Andrew Caballeiro	Miami, FL	FL	Jan 29, 2020
Breasia Terrell	Davenport, IA	IA	Jul 15, 2020
Osiel Rico	Roswell, NM	NM	Jan 7, 2020
Klay Guzman	Colorado City, TX	TX	Aug 21, 2020

Notice: The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® certifies the posters on this site only if they contain the NCMEC logo and the 1-800-THE-LOST® (1-800-843-5678) number. All other posters are the responsibility of the agency whose logo appears on the poster.

Select an image to view the poster for one of these missing children.

“We Miss Her So Much” Hope for Kathy After 5 Years

MISSING - Kathy Pereira

By Brenna O'Donnell

08-13-2020

In August of 2015, Kathy Pereira was enjoying a busy summer. The 15-year-old girl had just returned home to Gaithersburg, Maryland after spending the season visiting her grandparents in Lisbon, Portugal. Shortly after her return stateside, Kathy and her family took a trip down to Virginia Beach to spend time together on the shore.

“We came back from the beach and she was talking about all these goals, about going to college and what she wanted to study,” said Lillian Pereira, Kathy’s mother. “She wanted to study Business, and get her Masters in Portugal.”

After returning home from the beach on the evening of Sunday, Aug. 16, the family was watching movies and eating snacks before heading off to bed. By the next day, their whole world would be different; they had no way of knowing that it would be the last night they’d spend with their daughter and sister before she disappeared.

Kathy’s family describes her as a shy but friendly teenage girl, who loved spending time with her siblings. In fact, it was her younger brother Chistopher who first noticed that Kathy wasn’t anywhere to be found on the morning of Aug. 17, 2020.

By that evening, the family had mobilized a search and reported Kathy missing to the police.

“I was driving around. Her older siblings were driving around, looking everywhere for her,” said Lillian.

“The detectives came by, took samples of her hair, talked to my brothers and her friends from school,” said Emily Ramos, Kathy’s older sister.

“We put it all throughout social media, asking people if they’d seen her,” says Jonathan Ramos, Kathy’s older brother. “No one really knew anything about what happened to her.”

The search for Kathy Pereira began five years ago and still continues to this day. Her family hopes that someone will come forward with information that brings their beloved daughter and sister home.

“Every day I would go to work, I would look for her at the bus stop, and all up and down the Metro. I would answer the house phone every single time it rang, thinking [Kathy] might be calling home.”

In the time that’s passed since that catalytic August day, Kathy’s family has always held on to the hope that one day they could be reunited with her.

“We still do what we can, asking around and posting on social media,” said Jonathan. “We miss her. We still talk about it. It’s not like it ever goes away.”

“We just hope she’s okay,” said Emily. “If she ever wants to come home, she can. It doesn’t even matter why she could’ve left, just as long as we know she’s okay.”

“To be honest, this is always a hard month for me,” said Lillian about the August missing date. “I can never sleep on her birthday or on Christmas. Someone knows something, in my gut as a mom, I know it. But they haven’t said anything yet.”

When Kathy was last seen, she was 5’3 and 120 lbs. Her ears, nose, tongue, and naval were all pierced. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

This age progression image, designed by forensic artists at NCMEC, shows what Kathy might look like today, at age 20. 

View Kathy Pereira’s missing child poster

https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/1253629/1/screen

If you have any information on Kathy Pereira, you are urged to call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST, that’s 1-800-843-5678. 

Michigan sheriff's office sweep finds 7 missing kids, including 16-year-old victim of human trafficking:

GENESEE COUNTY, Mich. — A 16-year-old girl was rescued from captivity in a Michigan barn Friday evening.

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office conducted a sweep with the Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team, or "GHOST," searching for 27 missing children who had "fallen off the grid," WEYI reported.

Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson said seven four-man teams spread across the county looking for the children. Seven of the missing kids highlighted by the operation were found.

That included a 16-year-old girl who police say was locked in a barn in the city of Montrose. The barn was surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire.

Police say it appears the girl had been trafficked.

Her alleged captor was arrested and is awaiting arraignment in the Genesee County Jail, WEYI reported.

Swanson said GHOST has conducted rescue operations in each of the last three years.

Police said five recent GHOST operations targeting sexual predators have resulted in 17 arrests. Those arrested have come from across the state of Michigan who went to Genesee County to prey on children.

Sheriff: 16-year-old locked in barn rescued from human trafficking

by DAVID BONDY, WEYI Staff

FLINT, Mich. — Several crews with a mid-Michigan sheriff's office on Friday went searching for 27 children who have been missing or off the grid.

Seven four-man times spread out across Genesee County, about 70 miles northwest of Detroit, to look for the children.

Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson said seven of the missing children were found. One of them was a 16-year-old girl who was locked in a barn. Swanson said the barn was surrounded by barbed wire and it appears the girl was a victim of human trafficking.

The suspect in the case was arrested and is awaiting arraignment at the Genesee County Jail.

Mystery over Alicia Navarro’s disappearance continues after almost a year

MISSING - Alicia Navaro

It’s been almost a year since 15-year-old Alicia Navarro went missing from her home in Glendale.

By: Liliana Soto

Posted at 11:30 AM, Aug 13, 2020

and last updated 7:27 PM, Aug 13, 2020

GLENDALE, AZ — It’s been almost a year since 15-year-old Alicia Navarro went missing from her home in Glendale.

Alicia has autism and relies on medication, leading her family to believe she could be in danger.

“We’re living where there’s a lot of missing children and I cannot give up in looking for her,” expressed Jessica Nuñez, Alicia’s mother.

Nuñez spoke to the ABC15 Investigators to ask the community to not give up on her daughter.

“I’m very persistent in my daughter’s case because if I'm not, no one will be.”

For almost 365 days, Nuñez has not stopped looking for her daughter. She has been determined to get more funds for billboards with Alicia’s information posted on them.

“We were able to get a billboard thanks to a local union support of a donation on the I-10 and 75th Avenue and some additional digital boards that were also donated. At the moment, we were able to get Glendale to also put up two billboards,” said Nuñez.
Nuñez has also been sharing an image of how Alicia would look during the COVID-19 pandemic on social media. She is hoping people will recognize her wearing a mask.

Provided by family

“If I'm not her advocate, if I don't speak for her, who will?”

She’s tried it all: television, radio, national news, handing out flyers in the community, reaching out through social media, and now a possible reward.
“There’s still no leads, no information about where my daughter's whereabouts are,” said Nuñez.

She is worried about her own daughter, but also others out there.

“I believe there has to be some type of education programs to our youth about the risks online. Trafficking.”

Nuñez believes Alicia was groomed online, but Jose Santiago with Glendale Police Department says they’re looking into everything.

“There’s nothing that specifically says that she has come in contact with someone or any individuals online. We can tell you that the cell phone that she had hasn’t been used since she left that night,” stated Santiago.

Meanwhile, Nuñez says all she can do now is plead for her safe return and sends this message to Alicia: “You left me a letter and you swore to me that you were going to come back. I know that if you could, you would have called me already. I miss you and that there’s nothing that you could have done or are doing to lower my love for you. I'm here ready to receive you in open arms."

Nuñez also asks for compassion to the people who may know where Alicia may be.

“What is done is done. I'm asking for compassion for me and my family. We miss her very much and we love her.”
If you have any information about Alicia, call the Glendale Police Department at 623-930-3000.

Trinity Mount Ministries - How the FBI tracks down child pornography predators

Millions of images of sexually abused children are traded with like-minded predators all over the U.S. and beyond. Special correspondent John Ferrugia of Rocky Mountain PBS tells the story of one family who was victimized, and one FBI team that tracks down abusers.

Read the Full Transcript

Judy Woodruff:

It is a disturbing issue, but one that is growing, the production of millions of pornographic images of children being sexually abused.

They are uploaded from cell phones, Webcams, and computers.

John Ferrugia of Rocky Mountain PBS has the story of one family who was a victim and explores what you can do to protect your children.

Beth:

There was a card on our front door from the FBI, and, immediately, our hearts sank. We thought, why is the FBI contacting us?

John Ferrugia:

Seven years ago, Beth and her husband couldn't imagine what the FBI wanted, but they agreed to meet.

Beth:

They said, we believe your son has been a victim of a crime. And I said. Impossible. My son is at home. And he showed me the photos, and immediately I just broke down. My husband broke down crying.

John Ferrugia:

What she saw was her then 4-year-old son being sexually abused, the acts documented in still images and video, and uploaded to the Internet. It had been going on for two years.

Beth:

And they asked us if we knew who the person was and where he could be located, and…

John Ferrugia:

And did you?

Beth:

I did. He actually was a family friend that we had known for a long time, almost my whole life.

Tina Fourkas:

It's your neighbor, it's your pastor, it's your teacher, it's your soccer coach. We have had all of those types of people, people with kids, people without kids.

John Ferrugia:

FBI Special Agent Tina Fourkas has been investigating Internet child pornography in the Denver field office for more than seven years.

Tina Fourkas:

I wish there was some magic profile where we could identify these people, but there's not.

John Ferrugia:

It was Fourkas, along with agents in Illinois, Missouri, Arizona, and Colorado, who were able to identify son. Through their investigation, they discovered he had been a victim in a multistate child porn ring, and the agents tracked down those who had sexually abused him for years.

Beth:

My son was going to my dad's house. My dad also had some people that were helping him out and providing care and resources at his House.

John Ferrugia:

So he had no idea?

Beth:

He had absolutely no idea.

John Ferrugia:

The men, one married with two children and the other single, who had access to Beth's son, were arrested and convicted.

The break in the case came with the arrest of this man, Richard Franklin. He is a 50-year-old military veteran who lived in this quiet Denver neighborhood with his parents, who knew nothing about their son's criminal obsession.

Tina Fourkas:

You take a quick walk around the house, and you immediately know usually who your subject is, because it's the bedroom with all the computers and all the keyboards.

John Ferrugia:

FBI photos from their search of the house show how Franklin closeted himself with his computers, where he could view images he collected of children being sexually abused.

Tina Fourkas:

He had hundreds of thousands of images and videos of child pornography.

John Ferrugia:

Hundreds of thousands?

Tina Fourkas:

Yes, hundreds of thousands.

John Ferrugia:

Franklin's images of sexually abused children, stored on hard drives, were being traded with like-minded predators all over the U.S. and beyond. Franklin was advertising for child porn, receiving images, including those of Beth's son, and trading images from his collection.

Franklin was convicted and sentenced to 100 years in federal prison. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, known as NCMEC, works with federal, state, and local law enforcement to identify children in photos who are being sexually abused.

Here is how it works: Internet service providers like Google, Yahoo, and others monitor the billions of uploads and downloads of material with algorithms that search for possible child pornography. When it is detected, the providers review them and contact NCMEC, sending a sample image, as well as information about the Web server and address. It is then passed along to the FBI for possible investigation.

Calvin Shivers:

We're able to run those images against known images that NCMEC has, and that may play a part in victim identification.

John Ferrugia:

Calvin Shivers is the special agent in charge of the FBI office in Denver. He previously headed the Violent Crimes Against Children section at FBI headquarters.

He says, in Colorado, about 50 percent of child porn cases investigated are derived from tips from Internet providers through the nonprofit.

Calvin Shivers:

A lot of times, when you just get a general tip, there may not be enough information. But NCMEC, because of the experience staff, they're able to in some instances call additional information that may help the investigation.

John Ferrugia:

The number of tips compiled by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has exploded in recent years. In 2010, there were more than 213,000 tips involving child pornography. In 2017, the number of tips was more than 10 million.

Judy Smith:

The number of cases that are happening, it's an avalanche. I mean, we just feel like we're dishing the ocean out with a spoon.

John Ferrugia:

Judy Smith is chief of the cyber-crime and national security section of the U.S. attorney's office in Denver.

Judy Smith:

Nobody wants to know that this dark side of humanity exists, and not just exists, but the scope of it.

John Ferrugia:

Judy Smith says another growing concern involves increasingly younger kids carrying smartphones.

Judy Smith:

They can take pictures of themselves, and they can send those to their friends or somebody who they think are friends. There's online predators out there who pose as young boys or girls, who then entice or ask kids to self-produce child pornography.

John Ferrugia:

And FBI Special Agent Tina Fourkas says, once just one photo is sent by an unsuspecting child or teen to a predator posing online as another kid, as illustrated in this NCMEC training video.

Tina Fourkas:

They can be blackmailed, or they're too embarrassed to say anything, so they continue to send pictures.

John Ferrugia:

To emphasize the point, Fourkas noted that while we were conversing on an upper floor of the FBI building in Denver-

Tina Fourkas:

People are actively posting child pornography on one of my undercover computers downstairs. There's a little girl on that site, you can tell she's self-producing. I mean, she's holding the cell phone out. She's nude. She's maybe 10, 11 years old.

John Ferrugia:

You're seeing this?

Tina Fourkas:

And we're seeing this live on this site. Why is she taking pictures of herself? Where are her parents?

Calvin Shivers:

You know, parents should be cognizant of what their children are doing on the Internet and on their smartphones just across the board.

John Ferrugia:

And FBI Special Agent in Charge Calvin Shivers says it goes beyond monitoring.

Calvin Shivers:

Parents should also make sure that there's a good avenue for their children to communicate and, if they had that conversation, that the children know that they can come to them.

To your point, a lot of the victims don't feel that they can talk to their parents. And that causes them to be revictimized over and over again.

John Ferrugia:

For Beth's son and for her family, ongoing therapy has brought them beyond trauma to hope.

How does how does your son see his future?

Beth:

Oh, just very positive. He's also going to have this story to go with it, that, you know, I dealt with this as a child, and, look, here I am, and you can get through it too.

John Ferrugia:

Beth and her family say they hope public discussion of this horrific crime will bring public awareness and reduce the stigma for victims whose childhood photos often remain accessible on the Web, and that it will help victims and their families heal.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Ferrugia in Denver.

Trinity Mount Ministries - Global Missing Children

by Brett Fletcher  @TrinityMount

The reasons why Trinity Mount Ministries posts international missing children cases:

A significant number of people connected to Trinity Mount Ministries, by design, are located in other countries, outside of the United States. This includes law enforcement agencies and personnel, child advocates, organizations and individuals.

Because of human trafficking and child sex trafficking, as well as parental and/or family abductions, the missing children could be anywhere on the planet, as well as down the street, blocks away, in the city or town they live in, in the state and country where they live or other countries.

Parental Abductions

Some have said, "At least they're with their parent(s)."

Response: Just because they (the abducted children) are in the company of their parents doesn't mean they (the children) are automatically safe and that the parents have the child's and/or children's best interest in mind. Many times there have been parental abduction cases where the children are abused and/or murdered. It would be hard to justify parental abductions, based on what happens in many cases.

Child sex trafficking rings work internationally, cartel to cartel, from country to country. Children could be trafficked to the United States from other countries, just as children from the United States could be trafficked to other countries. This is an international problem that includes the United States. Trinity Mount Ministries shares in the global concern for all missing and exploited children.

In short, abducted children can be moved to any place on this planet by their abductors. Whether stranger, acquaintance, family or parental abductions, it should be assumed that the children are in immediate danger.

So, this is why Trinity Mount Ministries posts international missing children cases as well as local, regional and national cases.

Brett Fletcher, MHRS, MS.Psy, Th.G, founder of Trinity Mount Ministries

http://www.TrinityMount.Info

Trinity Mount Ministries - NCMEC - Active Missing Children Posters / Active AMBER Alerts - UPDATE - 08/15/2020

Missing Children Posters Below

Active AMBER Alerts

Name	Missing From	Issued For	Alert Date
Andrew Caballeiro	Miami, FL	FL	Jan 29, 2020
Breasia Terrell	Davenport, IA	IA	Jul 15, 2020
Osiel Rico	Roswell, NM	NM	Jan 7, 2020

Notice: The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® certifies the posters on this site only if they contain the NCMEC logo and the 1-800-THE-LOST® (1-800-843-5678) number. All other posters are the responsibility of the agency whose logo appears on the poster.

Select an image to view the poster for one of these missing children.

Trinity Mount Ministries - CyberTipline - NCMEC - Report Abuse! 1-800-843-5678

Overview

NCMEC’s CyberTipline is the nation’s centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children. The public and electronic service providers can make reports of suspected online enticement of children for sexual acts, extra-familial child sexual molestation, child pornography, child sex tourism, child sex trafficking, unsolicited obscene materials sent to a child, misleading domain names, and misleading words or digital images on the internet.

What Happens to Information in a CyberTip?

NCMEC staff review each tip and work to find a potential location for the incident reported so that it may be made available to the appropriate law-enforcement agency for possible investigation. We also use the information from our CyberTipline reports to help shape our prevention and safety messages.

Is Your Image Out There?

Get Support

One of the worst things about sextortion is feeling like you’re facing everything alone. But you have people who care for you and want to help. Reach out to them!

A trusted adult can offer advice, help you report, and help you deal with other issues. It could be your mom, dad, an aunt, a school counselor, or anyone you trust and are comfortable talking to. You can also “self report” by making a report on your own to the CyberTipline.

Don’t Give Up

Having a sexual exploitative image of yourself exposed online is a scary experience. It can make you feel vulnerable and isolated, but remember, others have been in the same situation as you – and they’ve overcome it. 

Learn the steps you can take to limit the spread of the content.