Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM)
Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM)
Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) is any visual (imagery or video) depiction of sexually explicit sexual conduct involving a minor (a person less than 18 years old.
If you know of anyone in possession of CSAM or have come across images or videos of CSAM, please contact the FDLE Cybercrime Office (link).
Possessing, distributing, transmitting and manufacturing CSAM are all illegal in the State of Florida and are third degree felonies covered under Florida Statutes 847.0135, 847.0138 and 827.071.
Many websites appear to contain CSAM, but in reality, contain "Child Erotica" (i.e., children photographed nude or partially nude posed in a manner that does not meet the criteria for sexual conduct). Child erotica is not illegal.
Additionally, if you receive CSAM by email or in any other manner, do not download, print, or copy it to a disk and do not forward the email to anyone. Leave the email in your inbox and contact the FDLE Cybercrime Office.
If you find a website that contains images of CSAM, you should not download any of these images for any reason. You should write down the Web address and leave the site, then contact the FDLE Cybercrime Office.
Helpful Links
Discussion of CSAM under existing federal laws
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children - The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) was established in 1984 as a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization to provide services nationwide for families and professionals in the prevention of abducted, endangered, and sexually exploited children.
Contact information for agencies outside of the State of Florida
www.icactraining.org - The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program was created to help state and local law enforcement agencies enhance their investigative response to offenders who use the Internet, online communication systems, or other computer technology to sexually exploit children. The program is currently composed of 61 regional Task Force agencies and is funded by the United States Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The Training & Technical Assistance Program was established to assist these agencies with training and technical assistance in support of their Internet Crimes Against Children initiatives.
National Clearinghouse on exploited children cases
www.missingkids.com or
www.cybertipline.com - Both websites are for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children® (NCMEC). The mission of NCMEC is to help prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation; help find missing children; and assist victims of child abduction and sexual exploitation, their families, and the professionals who serve them.
Excellent site for research material and published studies on Crimes Against Children
http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/index.html - The mission of the Crimes against Children Research Center (CCRC) is to combat crimes against children by providing high quality research and statistics to the public, policy makers, law enforcement personnel, and other child welfare practitioners. CCRC is concerned with research about the nature of crimes including child abduction, homicide, rape, assault, and physical and sexual abuse as well as their impact.
Child Safety
Although online computer exploration opens a world of possibilities for children — expanding their horizons and exposing them to different cultures and different ways of life — they can also be exposed to dangers. There are individuals who try to sexually exploit children through the Internet. Some of these individuals gradually seduce their targets through the use of attention, affection, kindness, and even gifts.
These predators often are willing to devote considerable amounts of time, money, and energy to this process. They empathize with the problems of children, and know all about their latest music, hobbies, and interests. They try to gradually lower children's inhibitions by slowly introducing sexual context and content into their conversations. By this time the child often considers the person a "friend," and won't want to hurt their feelings or get them into trouble.
Links to help keep your children safe online