United States Attorney Robert Frazer Encourages Schools, Youth Organizations to Partner with DOJ on Online Child Exploitation Prevention

NEWARK, N.J. - United States Attorney Robert Frazer is encouraging New Jersey schools, youth-serving organizations, athletic programs and other community groups to take advantage of free training and prevention resources available through the Department of Justice to help protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse.

The call comes as the Department of Justice's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) launches an expanded effort to engage schools and other organizations in preventing online exploitation of children. In an open letter issued this week, Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva encouraged organizations that work with children to partner with the Department on prevention and education efforts and highlighted resources available to help communities address emerging threats, including online grooming, sextortion, sadistic online exploitation and the misuse of artificial intelligence to create sexually explicit deepfake images of children.

The initiative builds on prevention efforts already underway in New Jersey. Last month, our office obtained an admission of guilt by a defendant who had persuaded and enticed minors to produce and send child pornography. In addition, a defendant was sentenced to 324 months for multiple child exploitation offenses. In June, our office secured a 320 months prison sentence for a defendant who was producing child pornography. We look forward to continuing to work with the community to find and prosecute cases of child exploitation.

"The digital world is evolving faster than ever, and with it come increasingly sophisticated threats to our children. By the time law enforcement becomes involved, it is often too late to prevent the harm that has already been done to a victim. The Department of Justice is providing these resources to help parents, concerned citizens, and communities recognize the warning signs, take action, and, most importantly, prevent grave harm before it occurs."

- U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer

Training can be arranged virtually or in person, depending on the needs of the organization. The Department of Justice's CEOS provides free prevention programming to schools and other organizations through in-person presentations and webinars and can help connect organizations with prevention experts. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey can also help connect New Jersey organizations with Assistant U.S. Attorneys and federal agents with experience investigating and prosecuting online child exploitation and related offenses who can provide education and outreach in their areas of expertise.

Organizations interested in arranging prevention programming or learning more about available resources can contact the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey at [email protected]. CEOS's prevention resources are available through the Department of Justice's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Prevention webpage.

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