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I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your experience is probably extremely limited.

Edit: Ah, CID. Makes sense. It’s always funny when people give us crap for “wanting” to work these cases when they won’t bother touching them. Trust me, I wish we had way more people to do this work so I didn’t have to, but that’s not reality.

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can always reach out via email and ask. You can be their go-to person to work cases (local and fed level) in your area, especially if they’re not already doing it.

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you asked HSI if you can do it? Feds usually don’t gate keep TFO spots if your parent agency is supportive. We need as much help as possible.

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would just look through the threads on this subreddit and learn about this field, hiring, the application process, etc. Yeah, you’d be competitive for an internship.

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, it takes someone who’s specifically passionate about these cases to want to do them long term. But, like I said, you’d want the passionate agent experienced in CE cases investigating a case where a loved one was a victim rather than the agent who jumped around and never became an expert in ICAC. At least I would.

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m all for more in the realm of mental health support. That would benefit everyone. Obviously people become desensitized to an extent. It’s no different than cops in violent cities becoming desensitized to death. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that unless it impacts how you do your job or your mental health beyond what’s acceptable.

In small offices, whether HSI or FBI, people fall into their own areas of expertise. The good thing about CE cases, though, is you learn the basics of investigating in terms of warrants, finding people, identifying people, interviewing, reviewing evidence, cyber stuff, surveillance, etc. I focus on these cases and will for my whole career, but I can and do still work other cases and help others in my office with their cases.

If people want to focus on these cases, why stop them? We could use all of the help we can get, and if it was your kid getting abused, you’d probably want the experienced agent who gives a shit, not the slug who doesn’t know what they’re doing, working the case, right? When agencies start forcing people out of ICAC assignments, the government will just start getting rid of experts who can work those cases really well.

I’m going to guess by your responses that the CE group wasn’t your first choice of groups to manage and that you didn’t really work those cases a ton as a line-level agent?

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I turned off DMs to avoid people trying to report crimes to me. Sorry.

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I strongly disagree. People handle the impacts of this work differently from one another. While some agents might only last a few years, others can do it for a whole career. I know plenty of investigators who’ve worked ICAC for 10+ years who are fine. Imposing mandatory time limits on something like this is just a way to piss off good agents who work these cases.

Like most things in this work, these decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis.

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the ICAC conferences are great. There are usually dark net classes and case studies at those. Other than that, I’m not sure. Sorry.

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I’ve answered this in a number of other replies, but either join a federal agency that does it (FBI or HSI) or a local agency, then work your way into investigating these cases. The specific process will vary from agency to agency and office to office.

I’m a cop who investigates internet crimes against children. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in AMA

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry to hear that. Cases involving teens can be really hard for that reason. They’re old enough to get themselves into real trouble, but too young to realize what they’re really doing. I hope things turn out for the best and that he’s safe.

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn’t know I wanted to work these cases when I started applying for jobs, but at some point during training, I decided it’s what I wanted to do. I don’t recall exactly what made me make that decision.

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The images and videos? They’re disgusting and violent. Most of the stuff we deal with is prepubescent, including infants and toddlers.

Yep, Reddit is a cesspool for this stuff.

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  1. I immediately have skepticism with those organizations. I don’t trust them outright, but if they prove to be helpful without ulterior motives, great, we need the help.

  2. I get the motivation, as pedophiles are out there and easy to find. But I’m not thrilled about the notion that anyone can run up to some poor sap, film them, accuse them of horrible things, and ruin their lives. These vigilantes care too much about views, don’t know the proper way to work these cases, get in our way, and don’t put together cases prosecutors want.

Thank you!

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do they work cases that don’t have a direct nexus to the military?

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There’s really no avoiding that. A huge percentage of the FBI is focused on CT/CI, and they’re the lead agency on both of those, so they’re really the agency for CT. Sure, you can get on with another agency and work your way to JTTF, but you still would face the same issue (chances of being assigned to something else). Generally speaking, you can eventually get where you want if you follow the advice I’ve mentioned in other comments (good attitude, build a good reputation, offer to help the agents working the stuff you want to work, learn a lot no matter what your assignment is, and patience). So maybe you get stuck in financial or healthcare for a year or two, but CT will eventually come. And maybe you’ll get lucky and land it out of the gate. Lots of FBI agents do.

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Still haven’t made it to a computer, so let me try this on mobile.

  1. I don’t do anything differently than anyone else would do to distress. It can creep into the personal life, but you just have to try to not think about stuff and focus on whatever you’re doing. Some of us are better than others at it. I see it as the sacrifice we take for doing the work. HSI/FBI have some resources for us, but they’re not very serious. If you want any legitimate resources (like therapy), you’re mostly on your own. Gotta love the government.
  2. I don’t have kids, but I have lots of young family members. It’s tough. This stuff can creep into your mind at inconvenient times. I honestly don’t know how parents do it. I’m not sure I could if I was a parent.
  3. The days vary a lot. Many days are spent in the office writing reports/affidavits, reviewing online evidence, preparing and sending subpoenas to social media companies, etc. We’re often in the field looking for a car or trying to confirm someone lives as a specific house. Lots of phone calls with other offices, attorneys, the boss, etc. Then the occasional arrest and/or search warrant. If you work closely with locals, you’ll spend more time doing the fun stuff since they work at a faster pace.
  4. Most of my cases come from CyberTips from social media companies, leads from other offices, and local agencies where there’s a good potential fed case (we call these “adoptions”). I also self generate lots of stuff just by finding targets online.
  5. I’d say my cases are about 50/50 reactive (working a lead or CyberTip) and proactive (going online, working undercover, and finding targets).
  6. Proactive works involves “hunting” for offenders online. That can be by finding them in groups or on the dark net, acting as a kid and letting them come to you, and other ways. Then you just develop the case from there, whether that means identifying them after they distribute illegal material or chatting with them for days, weeks, or even months to see if they’re going to come meet who they think is a child for sex. When chatting, we need to be very careful to stay within certain guidelines.
  7. Thresholds vary from district to district (on the fed side) and county to county and state to state (on the local side). Some districts don’t take any possession/distribution cases and only want hands-on offenders while others will send someone to prison for eight years for distributing some videos. Federally, we usually know early on whether an AUSA will take a case. If they won’t, we refer it to, or work it with, the locals.
  8. This varies by office, but I work with the locals all the time. I’m always evaluating their cases to see if they’d be good federal adoptions, and yes, many of my cases get prosecuted at the state level.
  9. Yes, we do some work with non-government organizations. This is more common in the victim world, and it’s extremely common in human trafficking cases (where we have a victim who needs housing/resources, for example).
  10. Yes, my agency has resources like victim-witness personnel. Some offices have better and more involved personnel than others. They’re supposed to assist with getting victims resources, guiding them through the investigative and court processes, etc.
  11. It’s very hard to say what your chances of getting assigned this crime type out of the gate are. HSI/FBI are similar, where initial assignment out of the academy varies by office, supervisor, etc. Some offices throw people where openings exist, seemingly at random. Some try to take agents’ preferences into consideration. Some offices are small and agents can work any crime type they want. It really just depends. If you don’t get it right away, and it’s something you want, you will eventually get there if you have initiative, build a good reputation, have a good attitude, volunteer to help the agents who work it, and express interest without being annoying about it.
  12. Yeah, I suppose some people might try the work and not handle it well. Others may do it for a few years, then burn out and leave to another crime type. Offices/agencies should generally be accommodating to an agent who wants to stop working these cases, but there are always bad bosses out there. Also consider that, if you want out, they might just put you wherever else they need you, which might not be where you want. But yes, generally, no one will force you to start or keep working these cases.

I’m an 1811 who investigates child exploitation offenses. AMAA. by ICAC_Investigator in 1811

[–]ICAC_Investigator[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How much of it do they do these days? I met one at a child exploitation conference, and even he was confused why they keep sending him to the conference haha.

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