Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force

The goal of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is to aggressively investigate cases involving the on-line exploitation of children and child pornography.

The Task Force was formed in 2009 and has partnerships and/or investigators assigned from the following agencies:

• Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
• Columbus Division of Police
• Upper Arlington Police Department
• Westerville Police Department
• Grove City Police Department
• Grandview Heights Police Department
• Hilliard Police Department
• Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
• U.S. Secret Service
• Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children (OHIO ICAC)
• Ohio Attorney General’s Office BCI
• Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office
• Circleville Police Department
• The Ohio State University Police Department
• U.S. Attorney’s Office
• Delaware County Sheriff’s Office
• Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office\
• Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office

Since the Task Force began, members have worked diligently to protect Franklin County’s youth in the following ways:

• Federal Arrests: nearly 100
• State Arrests: over 600
• Total Arrests: over 700
• Search Warrants Executed: over 850
  This number reflects the number of Search Warrants executed by Task Force Officers at a specific location, or for a seized item, i.e. computer, phone, etc.
• Child Pornography Investigations: over 2,500
  This reflects the number of investigations opened due to the manufacturing, distribution or possession of child exploitation images or videos.
• Traveler Arrests: over 150
  This reflects the number of individuals arrested for soliciting a minor via a telecommunications device.
• Child Victims Identified: over 300
  This number reflects the number of children who were identified as being victims of child exploitation, i.e. sex abuse, child pornography, etc. These children were located as a direct result of proactive/reactive task force investigations.
• Group Presentations: over 300
  The Task Force provided presentations on internet safety to various groups including students, parents, members of the community, etc. Total number of attendees exceeds 20,000. The presentations are typically two hours long for the adult version and under and hour for the youth version. Task Force members focus on the potential dangers the internet poses to our youth, including social media and cyberbullying. They also advise how to report a potential crime, warning signs and ways to prevent youth from becoming a victim of an online sexual predator.

To schedule a presentation or report possible illegal activity, please contact the Franklin County ICAC Task Force office at 614-525-3448.

Task force investigators offer internet safety presentations to parents, teachers, various groups and members of the community. The presentations are typically two hours long and focus on the potential dangers the internet poses to our youth, warning signs to look for and ways to prevent youth from becoming a victim of an online sexual predator.

To report criminal activity to the Franklin County ICAC Task Force, call 614-525-3448 or send an email to shrficac@franklincountyohio.gov

Safety Tips

• Always keep computers in a common area of the home.
• Set rules for computer usage in your household; what internet sites your children can go to, what times they can be on the computer, and for how long.
• Remember, handheld devices such as iPods, iPhones, tablets, etc. are just like computers and the same caution that is applied to computers should be applied to them as well.
• Encourage children to not add anyone to their social networking friends list unless they actually know the person.
• Parents should communicate with their children and discuss internet safety together.