Throughout North Carolina, hundreds of sexual predators are using the internet to target and solicit children – requesting nude pictures or to meet for sex. To help locate and prosecute these sexual deviants, Gov. Pat McCrory secured $1.6 million in state grants in his recent budget.
State legislators earmarked $600,000 for the 2015-16 fiscal year and $1 million for 2016-17. Grants will pay for salaries and training of investigators and forensic analysts, and for technology to locate and rescue children.
Priority for the grants is being given to veterans who have received specialized training through HERO, Human Exploitation Rescue Operative, a national organization of wounded veterans committed to finding and arresting child predators.
“We must protect the state’s children from sexual predators,” McCrory said. “Arming wounded warriors and law enforcement officers with needed tools and training will help find and prosecute abusers.”
HERO veterans and qualifying law enforcement agencies may apply for grants through the Grant Enterprise Management System, GEMS, tab on the Governor’s Crime Commission’s website, http://www.ncdps.gov/GCC.
“Law enforcement agencies, especially the smaller ones that have limited resources, are welcoming this state funding,” said David Huffman, commission director. “The training is highly technical and specialized and the equipment is expensive, but these grants are an important step in preventing sexual predators from reaching our children.”
The State Bureau of Investigation, the lead agency in this effort, has 14 agents assigned to the North Carolina chapter of Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, ICAC, (pronounced eye-cack).
“That small number of agents isn’t nearly enough to investigate the massive number of leads referred to the SBI,” said Special Agent in Charge Alan Flora who oversees the SBI Computer Crimes Unit. “As the number of tips to the SBI increases, the number of SBI agents and local Task Force officers has remained about the same.”
Last year, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, (http://www.missingkids.com/cybertipline) sent more than 2,200 tips on potential cases of child exploitation to the SBI. Five years ago, the number was 683.
“This grant funding is a welcome asset in providing additional skilled manpower whose sole purpose is to find and prosecute adults using technology to communicate unlawfully with children,” Flora said.
“To build a good ICAC investigation program in a local agency takes about $40,000 and a couple of years, then several thousand dollars each year to stay current with training and software licenses,” Flora said. “Most local agencies just don’t have what they need. These legislative appropriations are the first step in being able to effectively investigate sex crimes against children going on throughout this state via the internet.”
The $600,000 grant is divided into two $100,000 awards for veteran HERO positions and 10 $40,000 awards for salaries, training and equipment. Two grants will be awarded across the state in five different regions. Twelve agencies have so far applied for this first grant.
Solicitations opened in December and will remain open as long as funds are available.
“These grants are unusual because, typically, the Governor’s Crime Commission receives federal funding streams,” Huffman said.
For more information on the grants contact: GCC Assistant Director Michael Gagner at Michael.A.Gagner@NCDPS.Gov