SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Attorney General’s office reports that within the course of a week, state and local officials arrested 12 people, served 8 search warrants, and still have 13 pending cases after a statewide crackdown on child porn.

A spokesman for Utah AG Sean Reyes said that within the span of one week, in what he calls a “Statewide Proactive Chat,” officers from 27 agencies across Utah intercepted messages as well as underage pornography.

The combined weeklong crackdown on child porn by law enforcement was prompted by a startling number — since the beginning of 2020, the number of cases involving child porn in Utah has increased by 600%. And the number, the AG’s office said, is growing.

“Not only is there a constant rise in cases, but many of the encounters we are intercepting are also bolder and more aggressive than ever,” said the AG’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Commander Alan White. “We’re also seeing younger victims—even toddlers, more often. It’s disturbing and overwhelming, to say the least.”

Utah’s ICAC Task Force was created in 2000 and is among 61 other such task forces in the country. It is tasked with investigating and prosecuting people who exploit children through the internet. 

Via its website, the ICAC offers tips to help parents provide a safe internet atmosphere for their children. Among the recommendations:

• make sure your child is mature enough to be online;
• have internet monitoring software installed on computers and mobile devices; and
• limit your child’s time spent on the internet.

For more tips, visit the Utah ICAC website.

Related reading:

• Dave & Dujanovic: The dark web and its dangers for kids
• Salt Lake City School Board member faces child pornography accusations; board demands his resignation
• Child pornography cache seized by Riverton police

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