Internet Crimes Against Children

The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, operating through the Attorney General’s Office, is a network of over fifty local, state and federal law enforcement agencies around South Carolina. The ICAC section handles cases involving crimes against children facilitated through the use of technology, including the possession and distribution of child pornography, and criminal solicitation of a minor.  The ICAC Task Force also provides Internet safety presentations and training to children, parents, educators, school resource officers, and community groups around the state.

The increasing number of children and teenagers using the Internet, the proliferation of child sexual abuse material, and the heightened activity by predators searching for unsupervised contact with under-aged victims present both a significant threat to the health and safety of young people and a formidable challenge for law enforcement. In response to this problem, the FY 1998 Justice Appropriations Act, Public Law 105-119, directed the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to stimulate the creation of a national network of “State and local law enforcement cyber units to investigate child sexual exploitation.”

Through this Congressional direction, OJJDP created the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program. The purpose of the ICAC program is to help State and local law enforcement agencies develop an effective response to cyber enticement and child pornography cases that encompass forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, and community education.

South Carolina’s Task Force is operated through the Attorney General’s Office and works closely with law enforcement around the state, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and several other state and federal agencies. In addition to investigating and prosecuting child sexual exploitation, the SC ICAC Task Force also provides statewide training to law enforcement and prosecutors in various practical investigative and forensic areas.

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