Child abuse

By a Biometrica staffer In July, Biometrica wrote about how human traffickers adapted to the "new normal" after Covid-19 and appeared to be increasingly targeting children online, even as the pool of vulnerable persons who could be recruited by these criminals grew,...

By a Biometrica staffer An undercover investigation in middle Tennessee ended in the arrests of 18 men accused of seeking illicit sex from minors, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said on Monday, July 12. The operation began on July 8 and...

By a Biometrica staffer On Monday, May 31, the Center for The Defense of Children’s Rights, published a report in which it said it had uncovered a “disturbing pattern” of child sexual abuse at as many as 18 schools and childcare centers...

By Aara Ramesh On Monday, May 10, Europol released a new batch of photos as part of its “Trace an Object” program, an ongoing effort to solve child sexual abuse cold cases across the continent. In their public appeal, the agency said that they are particularly looking for details...

By a Biometrica Staffer If you talk to any investigator working in child protection, he or she would tell you it is a mentally, emotionally and physically exhausting job, because of the nature of often horrifying crimes they are constantly investigating, the...

By Anand Vasu Last week, San Jose-based videoconferencing platform Zoom made a big announcement, which it labeled, “On Academic Freedom for our Higher Education Users.” The crux of the statement was that in the case of Zoom meetings and webinars hosted by...

By Anand Vasu Cornell D.A. Johnson, of Chicago, was sentenced to 45 years in prison on April 13 for producing child pornography involving multiple minors. Senior U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm called Johnson the “ringmaster” of the operation and said that...

By a Biometrica staffer Michael David Miller of southwestern Missouri was sentenced on March 9 to 20 years without parole, for using a social media app to contact 12- and 13-year-old girls in Canada and induce them to engage in sexually explicit...

By Anand Vasu The Arizona House passed Bill HB 2889 that will ensure convicted child offenders would not have the option of probation, parole or work release. This means that an individual serving a 10-20 year sentence, would not have the chance...

By a Biometrica staffer January 28, 2021 A Texas man pled guilty to conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq, at a hearing in San Antonio on Jan. 25. Jaylyn Christopher Molina, aka Abdur Rahim of Cost, was plotting attacks...

By a Biometrica staffer A man from Massachusetts was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography, the US Department of Justice said in a statement. Oliver Smith, 45, was charged by criminal complaint and detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for...

By a Biometrica staffer Ten men from around the US have been sentenced for taking part in a child pornography enterprise and conspiracy, the US Department of Justice said in a statement. Of the ten, three are based in New York, two...

By a Biometrica staffer A middle school teacher from Fontana, California, was arrested on child pornography charges by special agents with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Josue Gamaliel Vidal Quintanilla, 28, who teaches mathematics at Shandin Hills...

By a Biometrica staffer A resident of Kansas has been indicted by a federal grand jury on federal child pornography charges, the US Department of Justice said in a statement. The three-count indictment charged Jeffrey Pierce, who lives in Topeka, with producing...

By a Biometrica staffer A man was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for repeatedly sexually assaulting a child, producing images of the sexual abuse, and possessing hundreds of images and videos of the sexual assaults. Andres Rafael Viola, an Argentine...

By a Biometrica staffer Three men from Philadelphia were charged for their roles in a sex trafficking operation that exploited numerous minors from 2016 through 2017 by a federal grand jury, the US Department of Justice said in a statement. Andre Michael...

By a Biometrica staffer An American man was indicted for exploiting teenage boys in Laos, where he taught English, the US Department of Justice said in a statement. Michael Sebastian, 52, was indicted on three counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct...

With the covid-19 pandemic keeping many schools shut, children are spending a lot more time online to learn | © Pavalache Stelian - Dreamstime.com By a Biometrica staffer Operation Covid Chatdown led to the arrest of 34 men in Fresno, California, for...