BOISE, Idaho — A concerned viewer's request to investigate a Facebook page allegedly exploiting children has now turned into a public service announcement for parents around Idaho. Last week one of our viewers shared the link to a page reportedly exploiting children here in the Treasure Valley. After receiving the link, our station handed the information over to Idaho's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) division.
Their investigation showed that the page originated in Russia and had no connection to any victims or offenders here in Idaho; however, we learned that child exploitation is still very common. According to Idaho ICAC Commander, Christopher McCormick, in Idaho alone, "we're seeing more and more of this reported and we're farming/fielding several more complaints each and every day."
He adds that while they would like to report that they are ahead of this "pandemic," they can only say they are doing "the best they can" to stay on top of it.
According to McCormick, the best way to protect your children is to be mindful of how much information you're sharing about your child and consider keeping your social media accounts private and limited to who can see your information.
To report suspicion of child sexual exploitation to your local police, your ICAC Task Force, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipline visit www.cybertipline.com or call 1-800-843-5678.
