By Khalida Sarwari
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today emphasized the importance of protecting children from exploitation at a conference in San Jose, saying that there has been a rise in the distribution of child pornography.
Holder said the only decrease he has seen in child exploitation has been the age of the victims exploited.
“This is quite simply unacceptable,” said Holder, who has made the protection of children and other vulnerable groups a key priority for the Department of Justice.
Holder made the remarks during the keynote address at the first National Strategy Conference on Combating Child Exploitation, attended by hundreds of investigators, agents and prosecutors from all levels of government.
He encouraged the use of cutting-edge technology along with partnerships between law enforcement and community organizations as a solution to fighting the exploitation of children.
Afterward, Holder presented awards to 52 prosecutors, law enforcement leaders and victim advocates in 13 communities for their work in protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.
“We are signaling that when it comes to protecting our children, a new era of collaboration has begun,” Holder said.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program, the conference is offering instruction in investigative techniques, courtroom advocacy, digital forensics, behavioral profiling, victim advocacy and community outreach.
On Friday, Holder is scheduled to meet with Melinda Haag, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District, Mayor Chuck Reed and members of the mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force to discuss the department’s anti-violence efforts as part of the National Forum for Youth Violence Prevention.
He will also tour the San Jose Job Corps, located at 3485 East Hills Drive, and meet with students to discuss the effects of gangs and violence in their communities.
Later in the day, he will deliver remarks at the dedication of the William H. Neukom Building at the Stanford Law School.