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7 min read • Child Exploitation • Sextortion

AI Sextortion Scam: How Criminals Use Technology to Exploit Children and Families

The Digital Predator Revolution: When Artificial Intelligence Becomes a Weapon The digital landscape has fundamentally shifted, and criminals now wield artificial intelligence (AI) as their newest weapon against vulnerable children and families. Within AI crimes,  AI sextortion scam represents one of the most insidious forms of online exploitation, where cybercriminals…
10 min read • Child Exploitation • Online Exploitation

How Online Grooming Fuels the Growing Digital Child Exploitation Crisis

The digital age has transformed childhood, bringing unprecedented opportunities for learning, creativity, and connection. However, this same technology has created new pathways for predators to exploit vulnerable children. Online grooming has emerged as an easy gateway for child sexual exploitation, with devastating consequences that extend far beyond the digital realm.
5 min read • CSAM

Understanding the ICAC Task Force: America’s Shield Against Online Child Exploitation

What is ICAC? The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program represents one of the most comprehensive law enforcement initiatives in the United States, specifically designed to combat online child exploitation and internet crimes targeting minors. This national network coordinates efforts between federal agencies, state authorities, and local law…
5 min read • Child Exploitation • CSAM • Online Exploitation • Our Perspectives

An Audacious Goal: The Future of Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces

If there’s one thing I’ve witnessed over the years during my work for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and now at my current role as CEO of Our Rescue, it’s the realization that the people who dedicate their lives to fighting child sexual exploitation are real life heroes.  Among…
4 min read • What Is Human Trafficking

A Behind the Scenes Look into the Creation of “Hiding in Plain Sight: America’sTrafficking Epidemic”

“If I can bring help to even one person to understand what’s happening, to see the signs, to know how to act, that’s enough,” said Nick Nanton, Emmy Award-Winning Director. “Even if it’s just one parent, one teacher, one community member who can make a difference, that’s why…
5 min read • Where Does Human Trafficking Happen

Human trafficking routes reach new territory across Africa and Asia, sparking urgent action

A new report by the 2025 Freedom Collaborative warns that perpetrators of human trafficking are pushing into new territory, funneling victims from East Africa and Horn of Africa into Southeast Asia, including the countries of Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia and Thailand. Ethiopia is also emerging as a key…
4 min read • Field Operations • Field Operations • Mission Stories

Operation Global Impact 2025 – FIRST UPDATE

Operation Global Impact 2025 is underway and multiple law enforcement actions have already taken place in the Latin America and Asia regions, with many more to come.  In total, 33 law enforcement actions have been carried out since Operation Global Impact 2025 began in August. The results? 47 suspects have…
1 min read • Field Operations

ESD K9 Trace Assists in Three Arrests in Thunder Bay Child Exploitation Investigations 

K9 Trace, an Our Rescue-sponsored Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) dog, has already supported law enforcement in over 30 searches since joining the Thunder Bay Police Service in January 2024. In his short two years of service, Trace has helped officers uncover devices in critical cases, including three recent child exploitation…
3 min read • Organization

Announcing Operation Global Impact 2025: A Six-Week International Surge Against Human Trafficking 

This fall, Our Rescue is launching Operation Global Impact 2025, a coordinated international surge operation across 10 countries in Latin America, Europe, and Asia.   We expect multiple operations with police partners in the coming weeks to identify and rescue survivors of sex trafficking and child exploitation, helping…
1 min read • Field Operations

Coordinated Prison Raid in Ecuador Uncovers Disturbing Crimes

He promised children free video games. What they got instead was exploitation. In Ecuador, a 24-year-old man, barely three weeks into a prison sentence for gender-based violence, is the alleged suspect in a disturbing case of child sexual exploitation that investigators say began in a neighborhood cyber café and continued…
1 min read • Mission Stories • Training and Prevention • U.S./Canada

Training Sponsored by Our Rescue Leads to Major Success for Minnesota Task Force 

Earlier this year, four officers from the East Metro Human Trafficking Task Force enrolled in Our Rescue’s Human Trafficking Task Force program. Through this training, they received specialized instruction and equipment designed to help them identify, investigate, and respond to trafficking.  Just months later, those same officers reported their first…
1 min read • Human Trafficking

From Trauma to Triumph: A Survivor’s Journey of Resilience and Enterprise 

When *Luya returned to Zambia after surviving human trafficking, she carried the weight of trauma and uncertainty. Life at home was not easy, she needed emotional healing and faced economic hardship. Yet even in the midst of this struggle, she began taking small but powerful steps to rebuild her life.  The first…
2 min read • Field Operations

An Inside Look At Our Rescue’s First Domestic Surge Operation

Predators and traffickers don’t stop at state lines, and we don’t either.   In August 2025, the first surge operation of the Interstate Justice Coalition put that reality into sharp focus. For two days, teams worked across Mississippi, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, bringing together three independent nonprofits working…
1 min read • Field Operations

Nine Women Rescued from Trafficking in Panama, 2 Men Arrested

In Panama, two men were smuggling nine Iranian women from Panama City to the Costa Rican border. However, instead of safely transporting the women, the men forced them into sexual exploitation, telling them it was to pay for their transportation costs, trapping them in a nightmare far from home. The…
1 min read • Human Trafficking

Shaman Sentenced to 34 Years for Exploiting Children Under Guise of Spiritual Rituals 

Claiming to be a shaman in Ecuador, a Peruvian national named Luzgardo M. used spiritual rituals as a cover to secretly exploit children. Investigators discovered that he was filming minors during these so-called ceremonies, actively producing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) under the guise of spiritual practices.  In July of 2025,…
1 min read • Field Operations

From Rescue to Reunion: Survivor Returns Home to Bolivia  

On June 21, 2025, a Bolivian human trafficking survivor was safely repatriated from Lima, Peru to her hometown of Cochabamba, Bolivia thanks to the combined efforts of Our Rescue, the Peruvian Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Lima Region, and the Bolivian Consulate in Lima.   This survivor had endured significant trauma…
2 min read • Field Operations

Suspects in Northern Kentucky Possess CSAM, ESD K9 Mo Helps Strike Back 

Children being exploited online is an ever-growing threat in communities across the country. Every day, predators use technology to share, download, and distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM), leaving children traumatized and putting more in danger. These crimes aren’t just staying hidden on the internet, they are spreading into neighborhoods,…
1 min read • Field Operations

Zanesville Man Sentenced to 13–16 Years in Prison for Possessing Exploitative Material Involving Minors 

In early 2025, detectives received a tip through the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) data system about possible child sexual abuse material (CSAM) being uploaded from a Kik messenger account in Zanesville, Ohio. After further investigation, the report, submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, led investigators…
2 min read • Field Operations

Operation Gran Guardian 02: Six-Month Investigation Leads to Arrest for Child Sexual Abuse Material 

In one of Ecuador’s most volatile urban zones, where the threat of organized crime looms heavy and law enforcement presence is often met with resistance, a joint operation was quietly set in motion. It was the culmination of a six-month investigation, one that would lead police deep into Monte Sinai,…
2 min read • Training and Prevention

Honoring a Heroic Team: ESD K9 Mousse and Special Agent McVey Retire After Years of Dedicated Service Protecting Children

This summer marks the retirement of Our Rescue-sponsored Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 Mousse, Iowa’s first Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9. For five years, Mousse has worked alongside his handler, Special Agent Michael McVey with the Iowa Department of Public Safety, supporting investigations into child exploitation and human trafficking across…
1 min read • Networks & Organized Crime

741 Files. One Townhouse. And a Tip That Sparked a Collective Response. 

A 24-year-old man living in Central Thailand was quietly collecting disturbing child sexual   abuse material (CSAM), content authorities believe he downloaded from private chat groups. Though he denied producing any of the files, he admitted to accessing and storing them on his phone. That phone would later be found to…
2 min read • Human Trafficking

Homeless Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Sexual Misconduct with a Minor 

In the spring of 2025, law enforcement received a call about a missing 15-year-old girl. The caller, who had taken the girl’s phone, told officers about her boyfriend who was a man going by the name Devan “Harmon.” At just eighteen years old, Devan was homeless and had reportedly moved…
1 min read • Field Operations

Six Arrested, 1 Survivor Rescued in Spain During Cross-Border Human Trafficking Crackdown 

A young Panamanian woman, lured with false promises of work, was trafficked to Spain and forced into sexual exploitation. Criminal elements in Colombia, Spain, and Panama were working together to recruit and transport women for this purpose, and she fell prey to their international network. Her freedom stripped, her documents…
2 min read • Field Operations

1 Small Town, 3 Arrests

Our Rescue-funded tech helps arrest three men for alleged child sexual abuse and exploitation in separate cases In Anderson, California, three separate men were arrested within months of each other, each accused of crimes involving the sexual abuse and the exploitation of children. The details differ, but the pattern of…
2 min read • Networks & Organized Crime

A New Way to Show Up: Introducing Surge Operations

Traffickers don’t stay in one place, and neither can we. – Derek Benner, CEO  At Our Rescue, we’re evolving our global presence to become more impactful, and mission aligned – meeting the needs of our partners. We’re always asking ourselves how we can do more,…
1 min read • Field Operations

Operation Fog: A Digital Trail Leads to Justice in Thailand 

He was just 22 years old, living in a quiet neighborhood in Northeastern Thailand. To most, he likely looked like any other young man. But behind a network of private chat groups, he was allegedly managing channels used to distribute suspected child sexual abuse material (CSAM) for profit.  His setup…
1 min read • Human Trafficking

“I Thought My Life Was Over”: Aisha’s Story of Survival and Strength 

*Survivor name changed for privacy  Aisha * was only 17 when her world changed. She left her village in Eastern Uganda believing she found work at a domestic job in neighboring Kenya. But the promise was a lie.  What awaited her instead was exploitation, isolation, and fear. Far from home,…
2 min read • Human Trafficking

109 Children Rescued, 244 Arrested in Statewide Crackdown

In May 2025, hundreds of law enforcement officers across North Texas joined forces for one mission: to rescue children. Operation Soteria Shield, a month-long effort led by the FBI Dallas and the North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, targeted individuals exploiting minors online, and what unfolded was…
1 min read • Field Operations

Albanian State Police Bring Down Multi-National Trafficking Network

Forty-four Colombian women thought they were leaving home for better opportunities. Promises of work and a better future drew them thousands of miles from home, all the way to Albania. But when they arrived, the truth quickly unraveled. There were no jobs waiting, only control, violence, and sexual exploitation.  We…
1 min read • Survivor Care

Eight-Year-Old Peruvian Survivor Confronts Possibility of HIV Infection After Sexual Abuse 

This time of year, most kids are enjoying fun days with friends and family. But for an eight-year-old girl in Lima, Peru, the month of June included being tested for HIV, after she survived the horrors of sexual abuse and having it recorded and distributed on the internet as child…
2 min read • Policy & Legal Advocacy

They Were Promised Jobs. They Were Forced Into Exploitation. 

Two young Colombian women, ages 21 and 22, thought they were leaving home for stable jobs in a textile factory in Peru. But instead of opportunity, they walked into the hands of a violent trafficking network.  As soon as they arrived in Lima, their documents were taken, their physical appearances…
1 min read • Field Operations

5-Year-Old’s Nightmare Ends, Our Rescue’s Forensic Donation Helps in Case 

A five-year-old girl in Hartford, Vermont was betrayed by someone her family thought they could trust. The 33-year-old man, who lived in the same apartment building, offered to help watch her. But during this time, he sexually abused the child and used her to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM). …
2 min read • Field Operations

Three Arrested for Trafficking Women in Northern Greece 

A woman, lured to Greece by false promises of lucrative work, found herself trapped instead in a nightmare of exploitation. Deceived into thinking she would earn a good living, she arrived by plane just days before being locked into a cycle of sexual abuse and intimidation. The traffickers handed her keys to an apartment…
1 min read • Training and Prevention

A Record-Breaking Class of ESD K9 Teams Join the Fight Against Child Exploitation 

Just last week, Our Rescue celebrated a powerful milestone: the largest class of Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9s we’ve ever sponsored graduated the Jordan Detection K9 program. Now, 11 new ESD K9 teams are ready to support law enforcement agencies across North America in the search for hidden electronic devices…
1 min read • Field Operations

Family Friend Arrested for Child Sexual Exploitation in Thailand, 14-Year-Old Boy Rescued 

When the family friend of a fourteen-year-old Thai boy being cared for by his aunt offered to step in and help, it seemed like an ideal situation. The boy’s parents were both in jail, and the aunt was struggling financially. Receiving care and attention from an adult male would be…
1 min read • Policy & Legal Advocacy

Two Women Escape from Sex Trafficking, Traffickers Receive 9-Year Sentence Each 

When two Nigerian women were approached by a young woman and her male partner and offered jobs in domestic work, the women were receptive. They were told that the jobs would be high paying, though they needed to move to Ghana to accept them. The women agreed and traveled to…
1 min read • Field Operations

48 Hours in Indonesia – Part II 

Operation Badik – Back-to-Back Arrests in the Fight Against Child Exploitation Our Rescue Indonesia and law enforcement strike again just 48 hours apart.  Before the dust could settle from Operation Borneo Bound, the Our Rescue team in Indonesia boarded another flight, this time headed to South Sulawesi. Why? Because in a…
2 min read • Field Operations

Two Provinces. One Day. A Race to Rescue Children in Ecuador 

6-year-old girl and 8-year-old brother rescued, half-brother arrested  At the beginning of the year, Ecuadorian authorities were handed a disturbing lead: a thumb drive found abandoned on a bus near the Amazon region, which contained child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The team urgently needed to locate the survivors and put…
1 min read • Field Operations

48 Hours in Indonesia – Part 1

 First two operations in Indonesia of 2025 strike deep into the heart of digital trafficking networks – 2 suspects arrested.   Part 1: Operation Borneo Bound  Deep in an isolated region of South Kalimantan, one man was quietly distributing images that should never exist. Behind the closed doors of his…
5 min read • Our Perspectives

A dog trained to protect children also saved my own life

By Chaz Balogh, Our Rescue ESD K9 Program Relationship Manager  A highly trained, excitable and lovable detective named Spike saved my life. I don’t say that lightly. He brought me back to life, really, giving me a new purpose and rejuvenating my career in my lifelong mission to protect kids.
2 min read • Field Operations

From Prosecution to Urgent Survivor Care: 12-Year-Old Boy Rescued in Peru 

After three years of sexual abuse, a twelve-year-old Peruvian boy had completely withdrawn from his regular routine. Sinking into a deep depression, he rarely left the house and stopped attending school.   The perpetrator? A twenty-seven-year-old man who had befriended the boys’ family after he began working construction in the rural…
8 min read • Online Exploitation

Why Age-Appropriate Online Safety Conversations Matter 

In today’s digital world, kids are online earlier and more often than ever before. A recent report from Common Sense Media found that by age 4, more than half of children have their own tablet, and nearly one in four have their…
9 min read • Networks & Organized Crime

The Impact of Illegal Massage Parlors on Sex Trafficking

The Hidden Crisis Operating in Plain Sight Across the United States, an estimated 7,500 to 9,000 illicit massage businesses (IMBs) operate as fronts for one of the most pervasive forms of human sex trafficking in America today. These illegal massage parlors represent far more than isolated criminal…
2 min read • Field Operations • Homepage Featured • Operations

From Coast to Coast: Our Rescue Supports Nationwide Stand Against Human Trafficking 

Across the United States, human trafficking doesn’t always happen in the shadows. Often, it’s woven into the fabric of everyday life.  In neighborhoods, in businesses that seem ordinary, in places people pass by every day without a second thought. Illicit massage businesses (IMBs) are one of the most common covers…
Our Rescue Shield
14 min read • Prevention & Awareness

Our Shield™: A New Online Safety Superpower for Caregivers and Kids

We are raising a generation of children in a world more connected and complex than before in an ever-evolving digital maze. From toddlers swiping tablets, tweens in group chats, and teens navigating TikTok trends, our kids are growing up in the new wild west. This digital frontier—rooted in smartphones, social…
2 min read • Field Operations

A Quiet Room, a Hidden Crime — and the Team That Brought It to Light 

In a quiet town in Central Thailand, a young boy was suffering in silence.  He was just 15 years old — a student, a son, a child whose life should have been filled with friends, school, and the promise of the future. Instead, someone he trusted used their position of…
1 min read • Field Operations

Our Rescue Peru and Ecuador Teams Reach Across Borders to Help in Child Trafficking Case 

It wasn’t long after a fourteen-year-old Peruvian girl didn’t return home from the market that her family’s fears were confirmed: she had been kidnapped and trafficked. The Peruvian National Police began an investigation and identified her trafficker as a Peruvian national with a history of sexually abusing children. The abuser…
4 min read • Online Exploitation

Internet Safety Tips You Need to Know to Protect Your Family in 2025

Protecting Children in the Digital Age  Every child deserves to grow up free from exploitation and harm—both offline and online. At Our Rescue, we’re committed to creating a world where children can safely navigate digital spaces without falling prey to those who would exploit them. The fight against trafficking and…
1 min read • Field Operations

Our Rescue Supports First Operation in Romania

Authorities Dismantle Trafficking Operation in Eastern Europe, Rescue Two Survivors   In Romania, a 57-year-old man allegedly spent five years trafficking two women in Eastern Europe and forcing them into being sexually exploited for his profit.  According to Romanian authorities, in 2020 he began targeting women who came from at-risk situations,…
1 min read • Field Operations

Electronic Storage Detection K9s Sniff Out CSAM, Leading to Arrests in Ecuador 

During a string of recent successful operations in Ecuador to arrest perpetrators of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), one of the most important partners was on scene to help secure justice. Along with provincial and national police, the State Attorney General and even U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, specially trained Our…
1 min read • Field Operations

Our Rescue Donation Supports Carteret County Sheriff’s Office in Child Exploitation Cases 

At Our Rescue, we know that the right tools can make all the difference in stopping child predators. That’s why we provide essential technology and training to law enforcement agencies around the world—including here in the U.S. In Carteret County, North Carolina, equipment donated by Our Rescue recently played a…
2 min read • Field Operations

Two-Decade Reign of Abuse Ends with Life Sentence for Child Predator 

ESD K9 Heroes Help Bring Justice in Iowa Child Exploitation Case  For over 20 years, a man named Carl Markley used fraud and coercion to get dozens of teens, mostly boys, to engage in sex acts. As a nurse practitioner and business owner in Ames, Iowa, Markley used his position…
3 min read • Field Operations

Ghana Operation Uncovers Massive Cyber Trafficking Network 

In the early morning of April 17, 2024, Our Rescue Ghana joined Ghanaian authorities in one of the largest anti-trafficking and cybercrime operations in the nation’s history. Over 200 survivors—mostly young men and boys—were rescued from 22 locations across an 80-unit housing estate, many of whom had been lured from…
6 min read • Field Operations

National Police Week 2025 and Our Rescue’s Partnership with Law Enforcement

During National Police Week 2025, law enforcement officers across the United States will gather in Washington, D.C. to honor fallen heroes on the frontlines. The memorial march and planned events from May 11-17 will unite police survivors and active-duty officers in a major event that transcends remembrance. This year's gathering holds special significance as Our Rescue celebrates unprecedented achievements in supporting law enforcement agencies nationwide.
1 min read • Field Operations

Multi-Country Operation Dismantles Pedophile Platform: Bulgarian Cybercrime Directorate Helps Protect 39 Children

In March, Bulgarian law enforcement delivered a powerful blow to online child exploitationthrough a Europol-supported global crackdown on a major child sexual abuse material(CSAM) platform, Kidflix. With nearly two million users, Kidflix has become one of thelargest known platforms for CSAM. The General Directorate Combating Organized Crime’s (GDCOC) Cybercrime Directorateplayed…
3 min read • Our Perspectives

The Cases We Carry

 A National Police Week Message from Our Rescue CEO Derek Benner All of us who are serving or have served in law enforcement have peered into some of the darkest corners of humanity—investigating human trafficking, child exploitation, gang violence, cartel crimes, narcotics smuggling, illicit financial schemes, and fraud and scams.  …
1 min read • Field Operations

No Expiration for Justice: Thai Authorities and Our Rescue Take Down Repeat CSAM Offender 

Nearly ten years after a Thai man filmed child sexual abuse material (CSAM) involving a nine-year-old boy, he was still distributing the video online. CSAM has no expiration date—and neither did his crimes. Previously arrested, jailed, and then released after distributing similar material, he continued sharing the video of the…
5 min read • Training and Prevention

Our Rescue Joins Rotary VTT Team in Australia to Combat Sex Trafficking: A Global Effort for Change 

In March 2025, member of the Our Rescue Training & Prevention team embarked on a transformative month-long journey to Western Australia, invited by Rotary District 5300 as part of Rotary International’s Vocational Training Team (VTT) program. This initiative, backed by a Rotary Foundation grant, allows professionals from around the world…
6 min read • Sextortion

Online Sextortion Targeting Teens Surges Nationwide

A Q&A with two detectives on the frontlines of this growing crime ARLINGTON, Texas — The crime of online sextortion is surging across the nation, increasingly targeting teenage boys and in some tragic cases, the young victims have taken their own lives after being blackmailed with compromising…
1 min read • Training and Prevention

Our Rescue Donates Digital Forensic Device and Helps Stop Abuse of Minors  

For a 26-year-old man from Middletown, New York, TikTok wasn’t an entertainment site. It was a hunting ground and a place to meet girls under the age of 18. Even though he knew the explicit texts and FaceTime calls he instigated with a 15-year-old were illegal, that didn’t stop him…

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