F.A. United States Attorney Ryan Ellison Encourages Schools, Youth Organizations to Partner with DOJ on Online Child Exploitation Prevention

ALBUQUERQUE - First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison is encouraging New Mexico schools, youth-serving organizations, athletic programs and other community groups to take advantage of free training and prevention resources available through the Department of Justice to help protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse.

The call comes as the Department of Justice's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) launches an expanded effort to engage schools and other organizations in preventing online exploitation of children. In an open letter issued this week, Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva encouraged organizations that work with children to partner with the Department on prevention and education efforts and highlighted resources available to help communities address emerging threats, including online grooming, sextortion, sadistic online exploitation and the misuse of artificial intelligence to create sexually explicit deepfake images of children.

The initiative builds on prevention efforts already underway in New Mexico. In June, the New Mexico Collaborative Human Trafficking Task Force hosted a free virtual Online Grooming & Child Sex Trafficking Awareness Training for parents and caregivers. The two-hour training featured federal prosecutors, law enforcement agents and community experts who discussed online grooming and exploitation, practical prevention strategies, and how adults can recognize and respond to the victimization of children.

"We cannot expect children to navigate these threats on their own," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison. "The adults who teach, coach, mentor and care for them need to understand how online exploitation happens, what warning signs to look for and what to do when a child is at risk. We want to put the experience of our prosecutors and investigators to work for New Mexico communities before a child becomes a victim."

Training can be arranged virtually or in person, depending on the needs of the organization. The Department of Justice's CEOS provides free prevention programming to schools and other organizations through in-person presentations and webinars and can help connect organizations with prevention experts. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico can also help connect New Mexico organizations with Assistant U.S. Attorneys and federal agents with experience investigating and prosecuting online child exploitation and related offenses who can provide education and outreach in their areas of expertise.

Organizations interested in arranging prevention programming or learning more about available resources can contact the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico at [email protected] or CEOS at [email protected]. CEOS's prevention resources are available through the Department of Justice's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Prevention webpage.