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In one undercover operation a registered sex offender paid to sexually abuse an 11-year-old, <br /> spoke about how he was able to victimize his two-year-old nephew, and described how he <br /> groomed children into providing him with child sexual abuse videos. 10 The offender sent screen <br /> shots of his texts with children with whom he had connected using Kik, which revealed his <br /> technique for convincing them to send him sexually explicit material. He admitted sexually <br /> assaulting a massage therapist and indicated he wanted to kidnap an eight-year-old child, but he <br /> was afraid of being caught. <br /> Another offender, a Jersey City police officer, used the Wikr and Kik apps to communicate with <br /> his victims. He used those apps to communicate undercover investigators, where he attempted to <br /> pay to sexually assault an 8- and 10-year-old girl. He then traveled to Atlantic City with <br /> condoms and cash, with the intent of abusing the child. These are just a few examples of the <br /> depravity that law enforcement deals with daily. The crimes that lead to their apprehension is <br /> nearly always only the tip of the iceberg—there is never just one victim. <br /> The details of these undercover investigations shock the conscious. There is no shortage of case <br /> reports describing the sexual abuse of 11-year-olds. Or a mother who is targeted by an offender <br /> because her 5-year-old is too young to text but is of the age interest for the offender. Or the <br /> offender who brought a stuffed animal for the 10-year-old he was going to rape, along with a <br /> bottle of Viagra and other sexual devices for when the Viagra failed. <br /> The impact of these cases does not only affect our children. They impact the law enforcement <br /> community. Investigators,prosecutors, child advocacy professionals, and everyone involved in <br /> these horrendous acts must bear witness to the depraved images, sounds, words, videos, and case <br /> specifics eroding their mental health. The toll these cases place on law enforcement's mental <br /> state comes with a price. We need to support these law enforcement professionals from a <br /> wellness standpoint. Many times, our law enforcement professionals suffer in silence with <br /> limited resources. Every day I would come to work and worry about the damage these cases do <br /> to the people investigating them every day. I am concerned about the lack of resources available <br /> to the law enforcement community from a wellness standpoint. No one can prepare you for what <br /> you see in these cases; once you see them, they are challenging to unsee. These cases will stay <br /> with investigators throughout their lives to the detriment of their lives and families. <br /> The reality is everything happens online. Offenders, including registered sex offenders, are <br /> lurking in the same places where our children are communicating with their friends or playing <br /> online games. There is very little to stop these predators from communicating with, and then <br /> grooming, any child they perceive as vulnerable. Those who seek to police these spaces are in <br /> need of significant help if they are to bring about change. <br /> This past summer, I took a short walk on the beach in Point Pleasant. It was a beautiful 80- <br /> degree day, and along my half-mile walk I counted 67 children and teens on their phones, 12 of <br /> whom were making a TikTok video. I then came across a four-year-old who was lost and could <br /> not find his parent. Statistically, at least 1/4 of those children will be victimized. We are at a <br /> point where we need to identify what works and provide authorities with sufficient resources to <br /> cour(y man sF r�lrn ,r.d �S yF,�,M ri�sorl S(.rX a 0 F��x��l�zl��tz�r�... <br /> clIzlc�. <br /> ........................... <br />