Officials and community leaders efforts to combat the Sexual Abuse & Exploitation of Children.

The U.S. Department of Justice together with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(R) (NCMEC) and the Ad Council today announced a new phase of their Online Sexual Exploitation public service advertising (PSA) campaign
designed to educate teenage girls about the potential dangers of posting and sharing personal information online. Part of the Department’s Project Safe Childhood initiative, this campaign targets teen girls with the message Think Before You Post.

In conjunction with the launch, senior Department of Justice officials and U.S. Attorneys across the nation are participating in public outreach regarding the Department’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. From 2003 to 2006, the Department produced a nearly ten-fold increase in cyber enticement and traveler cases, from 581 investigations in 2003 to 5,416 investigations in 2006, resulting in 1934 arrests.

In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the
Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims.

For more information at http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/>