U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in collaboration with international law enforcement agencies, worked to identify victims of online child sexual exploitation and abuse during Operation Renewed Hope III, Feb. 24 to March 7.
The ICE Homeland Security Investigations-led operation resulted in the discovery and positive identification of 36 victims and more than 380 investigative leads related to additional victims.
“Every day, the dedicated professionals at ICE HSI work relentlessly to safeguard children from online exploitation. Their unwavering commitment creates a lasting impact on the lives of victims of these heinous crimes,” said ICE HSI Cyber and Operational Technology Assistant Director Sean Fitzgerald. “We and our global partners remain steadfast in our support for the victims and will continue our tireless efforts to hold offenders accountable.”
ICE HSI and partners analyzed 83,000 files comprised of 216 GB of data – the equivalent of about 115 hours of streamed video footage. The files contained 100’s of previously seized unidentified images and videos of child sex abuse material to identify children and offenders, along with the locations where the abuse occurred. Analysts created lead packages for appropriate investigative partners in the furtherance of associated law enforcement actions.
“The exploitation of children is a profound global crisis that requires a unified, all-encompassing response,” said ICE HSI Deputy Assistant Director Mike Prado who leads the DHS Cyber Crimes Center. “We are unwavering in our commitment to collaborating with both U.S. and international partners to rescue victims, identify perpetrators, and secure justice for the innocent lives shattered by these unspeakable crimes.”
The operation’s 251 foreign and 135 domestic leads containing the location and probable identities of children were generated through sophisticated investigative techniques targeting offenders who operate via the internet, which includes the use of forums, websites, email, chat rooms and file-sharing applications. Leads are compared against images of unidentified children and offenders in Interpol’s International Child Sexual Exploitation Database and then disseminated globally to HSI field offices and 47 partnering countries.
Operation Renewed Hope III consisted of ICE HSI special agents, victim identification specialists, computer forensic analysts, and criminal analysts who worked side by side with domestic partners from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children in partnership with the Tim Tebow Foundation; the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section; Thomson Reuters Special Services; the FBI and the Northern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
International partners included 28 victim identification specialists from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Ukraine and United Kingdom:
An Garda Siochana, Australian Federal Police, Brazil Federal Police, Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), Cyber Police Department of the National Police of Ukraine, Department of Internal Affairs-New Zealand, Europol, Federal Police Belgium, Gendarmerie Nationale – France, General Inspectorate of Romanian Police, Guardia Civil – Spain, Hellenic Cyber Crime Division, INTERPOL, Italian State Police – Postal and Cyber Security Police Service, National Crime Agency, NC3 – NCIS Norway, Office Mineurs – France, Police and Border Guard Board of Estonia, Policia Nacional de Colombia, Polícia Judiciária – Portugal, Queensland Police Service, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Royal Thai Police, Swedish Police Authority, The State Police of Latvia, Toronto Police Service and Victoria Police.
“This operation marks our most successful of its kind and underscores the power of collaboration and our relentless pursuit of those responsible,” concluded Prado.
ICE HSI is the global leader in the investigation of online child sexual exploitation and abuse and in fiscal year 2024, its efforts resulted in the identification and/or rescue of 1,783 child victims in child exploitation investigations, supported 6,939 new child exploitation investigations and the arrest of 4,959 individuals for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children.
The original announcement can be found here.