The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction

• Distributes photographs and descriptions of missing children worldwide;• Coordinates child-protection efforts with the private sector;• Networks with non-profit service providers and state clearinghouses about missingpersonscases; and• Provides information about effective state legislation to help ensure the protection ofchildren.As noted above, the NCMEC is a private, nonprofit entity with particular statutoryresponsibilities. NCMEC works with many of the Department’s components to advance childexploitation interdiction. For instance, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 5773(b)(1), NCMEC operates theCongressionally-mandated Cyber Tipline and the Child Victim Identification Program.To date, NCMEC has received 753,590 reports to the CyberTipline from the public andelectronic service providers on the following categories of crimes: possession, manufacture, anddistribution of child pornography; online enticement of children for sexual acts; childprostitution; sex tourism involving children; extrafamilial child sexual molestation; unsolicitedobscene material sent to a child; misleading domain names; and misleading words or digitalimages on the Internet. Analysts in NCMEC’s Exploited Child Division intake the reports,analyze the content, add value, and forward the tip to the appropriate international, state, federal,or local law enforcement agency for investigation.NCMEC’s Child Victim Identification Program (CVIP) has a dual mission: (1) to helpprosecutors obtain convictions by proving that a real child is depicted in child pornographyimages; and (2) to assist law enforcement in locating unidentified child victims. NCMECs ChildVictim Identification Program has reviewed more than 28.5 million child pornography imagesand videos in order to identify and rescue child victims, and has disseminated 19,800 reports toprosecutors in support of their cases against child sexual predators. Because of the United StatesSupreme Court’s holding in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234 (2002), federalprosecutors need to prove that the children depicted in child pornography images are realchildren. Local and federal law enforcement agencies submit copies of seized child pornographyto federal law enforcement agencies assigned to NCMEC, accompanied by a written request thatthe images be reviewed for apparent identified children. NCMEC then provides a report to thesubmitting law enforcement agency listing the files that contain identified child victims as wellas detailed information about the law enforcement officer who identified each child victim; thoseofficers can then provide any evidence needed in court. Essentially CVIP acts as a lawenforcement pointer system. A critical function of CVIP is the effort to assist law enforcementagencies in rescuing the child victims depicted in these images from their abusers. Whilereviewing contraband, CVIP analysts closely examine the images and videos submitted by lawenforcement and document any clues that may lead to the location of an unidentified childvictim. Once a location has been determined, the appropriate law enforcement agency maybegin an investigation to rescue the child(ren). CVIP requests notification and basic caseinformation when a victim of child pornography is identified by law enforcement. Working withfederal law enforcement partners, information about such investigations is added to NCMEC’ssystem. The addition of this information increases the value of CVIP’s reviews by assisting inthe prosecution of other offenders.94