WASHINGTON, DC — Even though a Harvard-based task force formed by 50 attorneys general spent a year studying the issue and found no evidence to support concerns about child predation on the internet, the U.S. Department of Justice has rounded up $50 million in grant monies for the development of programs to prevent “Internet Crimes Against Children” [capital letters supplied by DOJ].The $50 million specifically designated for ICAC efforts represents only a small portion of the $4 billion appropriated for the DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. ICAC funds will be doled out under the watchful eye of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, one of five component OJP bureaus.

The ICAC program supports a national network of 59 coordinated task forces, representing more than 2,000 federal, state and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies engaged in proactive investigations, forensic examinations and criminal prosecutions. According to a DOJ press release, during the past two years, ICAC task forces have conducted more than 24,371 forensic examinations, identified nearly 1,439 children who were victims of some form of abuse or neglect and arrested 5,450 individuals. Of the total arrests, 2,073 — or fewer than half — resulted in the defendant accepting a plea agreement. The OJP’s statement did not include statistics about convictions.

Interestingly, the new funds are earmarked primarily for law enforcement and ancillary agencies that have demonstrated expertise in and continuing dedication to developing initiatives that combat “sexual exploitation of children and commercial sexual exploitation of children facilitated by technology.” According to an official statement, the types of exploitation in which OJP is most interested are “trafficking of children for sexual purposes, such as prostitution, sex tourism, mail-order-bride trade and early marriage; stripping and performing in sexual venues (e.g., peep shows); the manufacture, distribution and possession of child pornography, and online enticement of children by sexual predators.”

Applicants must explain how they will help state and local law enforcement agencies improve effectiveness in responding to online enticement of children by sexual predators, child exploitation, and child obscenity and pornography cases. OJP expects most programs will take 12-24 months to develop, but agencies may take up to 48 months to complete funded projects.

The application form is specific about expenditure reporting requirements and results tracking. Performance objectives include increasing the number of investigations, arrests and prosecutions. Most notable is what the objectives do not include: a reduction in the number of children affected by sexual predation of all kinds.

However, at least the federal government appears to be focusing efforts and resources toward impacting identifiable obscenity. Perhaps the new funding impetus indicates an intent to leave legitimate adult entertainment — created by adults for adults — alone.