Child Porn Initiative Launches Today

Just hours ago we launched a national child porn initiative sure to be marked with the same commitment and vigor demonstrated in our decades-long crusade against clergy sex abuse. No child protection effort is complete without a focus on child pornography (in the U.S. alone there are more than 1 million child victims), and we now have the legal and technological capabilities to pursue great numbers of perpetrators nationwide.

The foundation of our initiative is built on Masha’s Law, a federal statute that gives children the right to sue anyone who produces, distributes, or possesses their pornographic images for damages of no less than $150,000 per download. Masha’s Law was enhanced by Congress in 2006 to encourage civil litigation. Last year, there were 85,000 reports of child pornography and Federal prosecutors were only able to prosecute about 1,400 cases. Masha’s Law will bridge that gap. We will bridge that gap.

Our initiative begins with a filing against Gregg Alan Larsen. Larsen is a former Special Education teacher at St. Paul Central HS who allegedly used a hidden camera to film children in the bathroom of his foster home. When authorities confiscated Larsen’s hard drives they found more than 100,000 images and videos of children engaged in sexual conduct.

What’s unique about the case filed against Larsen is that we named 100 defendants in addition to Larsen, all of whom downloaded child pornography from Larsen’s hard drives. The production and consumption of child pornography is rarely a solitary act. There are vast communities engaged in file sharing and every single person involved leaves a distinct electronic trail. Perpetrators have been using the power of the internet to exploit children and now we’re using that same power to detect, expose, and prosecute them. The message is simple: if you even dare to look, you will be caught.

Below is a Statement by Sgt. Bill Haider on the Child Porn Initiative