Mick Fennerty Special Agent, FBI's Crimes Against Children Thursday, June 26, 2003; 1:00 p.m ET
The FBI's Crimes Against Children (CAC) program's mission is to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse, through the use of a rapid and effective investigative response. Using mult-disciplinary and multi-agency resource teams, the FBI investigates and prosecutes these crime across a number of legal, geographical and jurisdictional boundaries. Special Agent Mick Fennerty will be online Thursday, June 26 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss the FBI's Crimes Against Children (CAC) program. The transcript follows. NOTE: Per the FBI's request, please DO NOT use this forum to post crime leads or solicitations to investigate matters. If you have an emergency, please contact the nearest FBI office or, if outside the United States, contact the nearest Legal Attaché office. Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
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Mick Fennerty: Hello and welcome to FBI chats. Thanks for logging on today and thanks for your interest in the Crimes Against Children Program. I will try and address as many of your questions as possible during the next hour. These are important topics to discuss as they relate to protecting our children, which are our nation's most important resource.
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Norfolk, Va.: Howdy - I'm not sure this is the FBI's area, but my sister just found out that a registered sexual predator is living next door to her in Florida. It's information her ex is thrilled to have - what shoud she be doing/thinking about this?
Mick Fennerty: The FBI does maintain the National Sex Offender Registry. There are links to this registry from the Crimes Against Children Unit's web site, which is a link from www.fbi.gov. She can look at that site for additional information.
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Woodlawn, Md.: How can I apply to work in the Crimes Against Children Program? What specialties are you looking for?
Mick Fennerty: All 56 FBI field offices have two Special Agents that work in the Crimes Against Children Program. Application information can be found at the www.fbi.gov site. Qualifications and specialties are included in that site.
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Catonsville, Md.: It seems that we hear of this type of abuse happening a lot. Has it been going on all the time, but not discussed in the media like it is today?
Mick Fennerty: Child abductions and other crimes against children have made the news a lot more recently. However, they have always happened. There isn't a large increase in these cases, the media have just covered these types of cases more.
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Lincolnshire, Ill.: Are there any safe chat rooms that teenagers can go to?
Mick Fennerty: Yes. Parents just need to monitor their child's online activity. The Internet should not be used as a babysitter and should be located in a common area of the house, such as the living room or family room. More information about this is available in the Parent's Guide to Internet Safety which is a link at www.fbi.gov.
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Washington, DC: Recently I've learned you have a strong relationship with The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Could you briefly explain this partnership/collaboration and how it works? I'm under the impression The Center is very highly respected among the law enforcement community.
Mick Fennerty: We do have a strong relationship with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The FBI has a Supervisory Special Agent and three Analysts assigned full-time to the National Center. Their assistance in investigating child abductions, child prostitution, and child pornography cases is invaluable. They are a highly respected organization in the eyes of the law enforcement community and the public.
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Silver Spring Md.: How does the Innocent Images National Initiative differentiate from the Crimes Against Children unit? Are they one in the same, or do their functions differ?
Mick Fennerty: The Inncent Images National Initiative is now part of the Innocent Images Unit at the FBI. They were relocated to be a part of the FBI's new Cyber Division. I am part of the Crimes Against Children Unit, which is part of the Criminal Division. Both units work very closely together on these types of cases.
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Baltimore, Md.: Do you think there will ever be laws on the books that will control people's actions on the internet? Something has to make these criminals think twice about committing these crimes and only receiving a slap on the wrist?
Mick Fennerty: There are already several statutes regarding what people do on the Internet in the United States and other countries. Many of the people who violate these statutes and are convicted receive prison time. The Protect Act, also known as the Amber Alert bill, which was signed by President Bush on April 30, 2003, increased the sentences for many of these violations.
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Windsor Mill, Md.: How long does an investigation have to continue before you make an arrest on someone who exploits children on the Internet? Are there tougher laws coming out that would try to stop this type of abuse?
Mick Fennerty: We sometimes arrest people within an hour of opening an investigation, although many investigations are longer. The Amber Alert bill, signed April 30, 2003, did make many of these laws tougher.
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Lincolnshire, Ill.: I am teaching sophomore health and we are discussing dating and the Web. My students have a few questions regarding how to be safe on the Web. Thank you for your time.
Ben Leven
Mick Fennerty: You're welcome.
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Southern Maryland::
From the description of your specialized unit in the FBI, it seems you are targetting strangers who exploit children. Do you use the same effort to find parents/step-parents, grandparents, boyfriends of the mother, or other family members who might be abusing children in their own homes? I think a lot more of this goes on than most people think. I'm convinced most people who have children aren't fit to raise them.
Mick Fennerty: In addition to investigating other crimes against children, the FBI investigates interstate and international parental child abductions and abuse of children in their own homes when there is a federal nexus such as manufacturing child pornography. However, some of the crimes you are mentioning could be state violations instead of federal crimes.
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Lincolnshire, Ill.: How many adults get caught each year trying to seduce children on the internet?
Mick Fennerty: Too many, but not all of them. There were over 1,000 cases opened last year by FBI Crimes Against Children Agents. The FBI will continue to investigate all of these cases as they are reported or found during undercover investigations.
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Rozet, Wyoming: Just looking and searching it seems as though there are thousands of child porn sites. Is there a list that has the ones you all have checked out?
Mick Fennerty: We do maintain a list of sites that the FBI has investigated for our useage. Complaints about child pornography sites can be made to any of our 56 field offices and to your Internet Service Provider.
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washingtonpost.com: Can you tell us what steps we should take if we believe that there is a crime against a child? What are the different signs and opportunities that a predator takes? And if there is suspicion that a child might be in danger, who and how should we make a report?
Mick Fennerty: If you suspect a crime against a child, you should report it to your local police department. They can contact the FBI if they determine that it is a federal violation. Many states have mandatory reporting requirements when someone has knowledge of child abuse. Local child welfare advocates, such as a state division of family services, can also be contacted about child abuse.
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Arlington, Va.: How closely do you work with local law enforcement in regards to missing and exploited children? I hear that many cases are misfiled under runaways. What is the waiting time for loved ones to call if a child is missing and how aggressively are these reports followed?
Mick Fennerty: We work very closely with local law enforcement when they ask for our assistance. We also have an Agent assigned to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. That Agent has all of the information available at the center regarding reports of missing children. Parents should not wait when their child is missing. They should actively look for them in their own house, neighborhood, etc. As soon as they feel it's necessary for police assistance, they should call their local police. If there is evidence that the child is abducted and in danger, the police can issue an Amber Alert for additional assistance in finding the child.
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Lincolnshire, Ill.: Here is a question from one of my students:
How can you catch someone doing something wrong on the Internet?
Mick Fennerty: People report to the FBI that other people are engaged in illegal activity on the Internet. We also have undercover Agents on the Internet who investigate crimes against children on the Internet.
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Lincolnshire, Ill.: In the future how are chat rooms going to be more secure (age wise).
Mick Fennerty: Hopefully Internet Service Providers and web masters will make chat rooms more secure in the future. Until then, we all need to be careful about what chat rooms our children visit and who they talk to. Children should never give out identifying information about themselves, such as their full name, home address or telephone number, etc., to anyone they don't actually know online. Internet computers in the house should be located in common areas such as the living room or family room.
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Buffalo, NY: Why are these arrests not more highly publicized? Wouldn't it act as more of a deterant?
Mick Fennerty: These types of arrests have been publicized. It does help act as a deterrant. The media decides what to and not to publicize.
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Mick Fennerty: Thank you for your participation in today's FBI chat. The FBI is committed to helping protect our children and appreciates this opportunity to answer some questions.
Look for more FBI chats in future weeks at www.fbi.gov.
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