"If your child is surfing the web in Manchester, they can be targeted by a bad actor halfway around the world," writes John Pizzuro in an op-ed for the New Hampshire Union Leader.
And that's why he's imploring Sen.
Jeanne Shaheen to restore funding for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
The national network of 61 such task forces received $40.8 million in 2023, but this year Congress cut that to $2 million.
That's "diminishing law enforcement's ability to bring perpetrators to justice," Pizzuro writes.
The ICAC Task Forces received $40.8 million in 2023, but this year Congress cut that to $2 million.
"We believe that is still the case, so we are calling on her to make it a priority now and fully fund ICAC Task Forces by appropriating the Missing Exploited Children Budget to $160 million, which is currently shared between ICAC and [the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children]," writes Pizzuro, who notes that 229 IP addresses in New Hampshire are being investigated for downloading and sharing infant and toddler rape videos, and only three of those are being investigated.
Shaheen, chair of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that funds the Department of Justice