By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Child exploitation, especially child sexual exploitation, is a growing problem throughout the region.
Criminal cybercrimes investigator Thom Cates with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department says the Northwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force works to battle child victim computer crimes in 15 northwest Missouri counties.
“When we say child victim computer crimes, we are talking about crimes against persons, primarily we are focused on human trafficking and child exploitation,” Cates tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. “When I say child exploitation, what I mean is when we have adults that are online attempting to meet children to form a sexual relationship with them.”
This is the first of a two-part series on the problem of child pornography in this area.
The Northwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force works throughout those 15 counties, which includes the cities of St. Joseph, Maryville, and Cameron.
Cates says such a task force must be regional, because computer crimes know no city, county, or even state boundary line. The task force must be able to pursue the perpetrator without worrying about jurisdictional boundaries.
Cates says those involved in the fight have to persevere through what he calls “brutal images” in their effort to prosecute those who produce it. Cates acknowledges the work takes its toll on investigators.
“And it’s like anything else, you will build up a callus and eventually the callus will shear off and then you build up another one and you keep pushing forward for the sake of the mission and for the sake of the work,” according to Cates. “The children in the images and the children that are being abused do not have the option of ducking out and sometimes neither can we.”
Many law enforcement agencies limit the length of time investigator spend on child exploitation crimes, according to Cates. Cates says while the task force arrests and prosecutes those in possession of child pornography, the real aim is to find the trafficker and prosecute the manufacturers of child pornography.
Some arrested on child pornography attempt to excuse the behavior, claiming they are only viewing images, not harming anyone. Cates says juries quickly dismiss any defense raised by those caught in possession of child pornography.
“And when a jury sees the images that the offender is in possession of, was gaining sexual gratification from, there is no excuse in the world that is going to satisfy a jury as to why that behavior would be conscionable or okay in any realm,” according to Cates.
What can be done to fight the problem tomorrow.
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.