Collective Liberty was on the front lines of supporting a cyber-related child sexual exploitation operation this month, partnering with the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office to provide analytical support in real time to support their mission. We were able to support the identification of many of those arrested, and provide analysis to assist investigators on both state and federal cases in the investigations.

“The acts that were attempted against children are the grooming behaviors seen in recruitment of children which causes them to fall victim to sex crimes, including human trafficking,” according to a McLennan County Sheriff’s Office statement. “We want this to be a reminder to parents that with shelter-in-place orders and schools being closed due to COVID-19, children are on their digital devices more than ever.”

Stay vigilant about the internet and app-based access the children in your life are exposed to. This is especially important during COVID when we are all spending more time on our devices than ever during lockdowns. For more information and helpful resources, visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s website.