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CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands, Jul. 12, CMC – The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, (HSI) has partnered with members of the local and US federal law enforcement and community leaders to form the US Virgin Islands Crimes Against Children Task Force (VICACTF).
Citing the need for a territory-wide approach to fighting the escalation of child exploitation and other predatory crimes against children , the agencies will pool their resources to jointly investigate all crimes committed against children in the US Virgin Islands.
According to the ICE, task force members will be encouraged to share evidence, ideas and investigative and forensic tools to ensure the most successful prosecutions possible.
“These young victims are left with permanent psychological, physical and emotional scars,” it said. “It is one of HSI’s most important missions to investigate and target those who possess, transport and produce child pornography, as well as those who engage in child sex tourism, and those who use sex to entice minors,” said the ICE.
Based on the number of complaints received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline, ICE said Internet crimes against children are rising at alarming levels.
In July 2003, in an effort to put an end to this type of criminal activity and protect children worldwide, ICE said it developed an initiative, known as “Operation Predator.”
Under Operation Predator, ICE and its law enforcement partners identify, investigate and arrest child predators and sexual offenders wherever they may attempt to hide.
Since the inception of Operation Predator, ICE said the number of NCMEC referrals for new child exploitation cases in the HSI San Juan (Puerto Rico) field office area of responsibility, which includes the USVI and Puerto Rico, has reached an all-time high, resulting in more than 245 arrests.
Child exploitation-related arrests have increased by 39 percent, with 50 arrests so far, compared to 36 in fiscal year 2014.
