Inside DHS’s Cyber Crimes Center (C3) in Fairfax, Virginia, I witnessed firsthand what global collaboration against child exploitation truly looks like when law enforcement officers from around the world gathered for Operation Renewed Hope. This past March, nearly 100 officers from 35 countries worked side by side, creating a temporary worldwide headquarters in the fight against child exploitation. In this two-week international surge, each workstation displayed the flag of a participating nation, a powerful reminder that the fight against child exploitation transcends borders.
Our Rescue supported this effort in a way that’s deeply personal to me by bringing our Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 teams to care for the people doing this work. These ESD K9 dogs are trained to locate critical digital evidence, but their impact reaches far beyond detection. They are also trained to provide comfort in high-trauma environments, supporting survivors, investigators, and professionals exposed to difficult child exploitation cases.
At Operation Renewed Hope, the ESD K9s arrived on assignment for the investigators. In a room filled with some of the most horrific material imaginable, they offered moments of relief, helping officers regulate, reset, and continue the work of identifying victims and bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice.
I know this need from my own experience. My badge now says retired but my journey in law enforcement began in 1991 with the U.S. Customs Service. Most of my career as a Special Agent was spent along the Southwest border. Eventually I served as Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Diego and ultimately led HSI as its Executive Associate Director.
Today, as CEO at Our Rescue, I still stand shoulder to shoulder with law enforcement. My longtime former colleague, DHS Cyber Crimes Center Deputy Assistant Director Mike Prado, invited Our Rescue and our ESD K9 teams in to assist officers in this critical mission.
“Operation Renewed Hope IV represents the Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber Crimes Center’s unwavering commitment to investigating and bringing to justice those who prey on children so victims can begin to heal,” said Prado. “Led by Homeland Security Investigations, this annual international effort is dedicated to locating and identifying survivors of child sexual exploitation and abuse — many of whom have remained unidentified for years. The operation also aims to generate investigative leads and hold offenders accountable.”
Investigators reviewed digital evidence, shared intelligence, and pursued leads together. When officers from around the world work in close quarters, information moves faster, accelerating the identification and rescue of victims. But the work carries a heavy emotional toll. Detective Jennifer Rider of the Chesapeake Police Department was among the teams helping to ease this burden as a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force herself and handler of ESD K9 Quincy.
“Quincy and I appreciated the opportunity to help provide some decompression and joy for the other law enforcement officers at Operation Renewed Hope last week,” said Detective Rider. “It was truly an honor to contribute in even a small way to such an important operation. It was an amazing experience to see the joy Quincy brings to people and to meet so many other officers from around the world.”
Our Rescue’s ESD K9 Program
Throughout the day, officers took breaks with dogs like Quincy. Even a brief moment or playful interaction helps ease the tension before investigators return to their work.
“The way the dogs lighten the mood in the room and the way investigators respond to them is really something to see,” said Bill Walker, SVP of Our Rescue Law Enforcement and Operations, who attended the C3 visit with me. “That momentary break away from the stress of the job really matters.”
Today, Our Rescue has funded more than 150 ESD K9s for law enforcement agencies worldwide, making it the largest nonprofit funder of ESD K9 programs globally. There are approximately 250 ESD K9s operating worldwide, with many of them made possible through partnerships supported by Our Rescue. Other ESD K9 teams also supporting investigators during the surge included Detective Liess of the Derry Township Police Department in Pennsylvania, and his ESD K9, Tor.
“While we were there, I could see the true effort of these investigators. They took very limited breaks and worked constantly to identify these children, locate and safeguard them, and bring perpetrators to justice,” Detective Liess said.
“Going through CSAM and other evidentiary artifacts to accomplish this can be a heavy weight on the mind for these investigators, and K9 Tor as well as other Our Rescue sponsored ESD K9s were able to interact with some of them and provide them with a sense of comfort while they continued their mission,” he added.
The Investigator Toll
Internet Crimes Against Children investigators aren’t robots. They’re human beings who carry the weight of these cases every day. Over time, that exposure can create real vicarious trauma. When investigators are constantly absorbing this material without a break, not only do they suffer but their work suffers too.
That reality is exactly why I created ICAC Connect—an initiative focused on supporting investigators on the front lines of child exploitation cases. At Our Rescue, we see our role as standing beside law enforcement partners providing resources, technology, training, and programs that strengthen those doing this work every day, including our ESD K9 teams.
When you see investigators from 35 countries working side by side, the scale of this fight becomes undeniable. “Hero” is a word that gets overused, but it applies here.
“During ORH4, the agents and analysts spent two weeks reviewing deeply disturbing images to help rescue victims and bring justice to perpetrators. We are deeply appreciative of the invaluable support from Our Rescue, their skilled handlers and their extraordinary dogs,” said Prado.
Operation Renewed Hope has already helped identify and rescue more than 550 survivors since its launch in 2023. The effort is supported in part by the Tim Tebow Foundation, which helps fund the participation of investigators who travel from around the world to collaborate at C3. Some of the participants even took away lessons of what an ESD K9 can do for their own departments around the world.
“The whole experience itself was incredible. We did demos as well for those interested, there were some that had never seen ESD K9’s work and they were very interested,” said Sgt. Morgan Moorman, of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, who brought her dog, Shebang. “One of the agents from Portugal was even filming how they work. We were able to visit different areas of the building as well as a secondary operation occurring on the floor above.”
I’m grateful I had the chance to see it firsthand, with all hands (and four legs) on deck in the fight to protect children. In many ways, the dogs who help rescue children were also helping rescue the investigators themselves.
“Everyone we encountered was incredibly friendly and welcoming, which made the entire experience even more special,” Detective Rider told me. “Thank you for allowing us to be part of it.”
What I learned during Operation Renewed Hope is that no single agency, and no single country, can solve this alone. We make progress side-by-side, in partnership and in-sync to rescue survivors. Every effort and moment matters, even when we rest in the loyalty of a friend like Quincy or Tor or Shebang, so we can carry on. Undoubtedly, witnessing these moments of collaboration between colleagues and canines renewed hope for all of us doing this work.
– Derek Benner, Our Rescue CEO
