Whether it is access to resources for law enforcement or more of a willingness by victim or their families to come forward, regional law officials are seeing an increase in the number of pornography or criminal sex crimes involving children going through the court system. In recent years, many counties have seen an uptick in the number of cases being prosecuted that involve minors, though the cause isn’t necessarily clear.
Morgan County State’s Attorney Gray Noll said with the growing technology and the ease of access to things like social media, the avenues to create and distribute child pornography have greatly expanded. “I think technology has played a large role in the number uptick,” Noll said. “We are prosecuting at least two cases right now because individuals were sending or receiving child pornography through social media."
Noll said the instantaneous nature of the internet makes access to child pornography much easier, as well as increased sexting.
Noll said there are also several cases where it is a minor sending a nude selfie to another minor, which is still considered child pornography. In Cass County, State’s Attorney Craig Miller said he only has a year to compare it to, but believes there has been an increase in the number of cases the involve children.
“There has been an uptick of those cases,” Miller said. “I can’t really speak to the resources or the reason we are seeing more of these types of cases.” Miller said he can’t say if the uptick in cases is because of a change in resources for law enforcement, or if there are other causes for more cases being sent to his office. “It could just be something that ebbs and flows,” Miller said.
Jamie Jackson, chief deputy at the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department, said it seems more people are willing to come forward to report crimes, especially among children. “I think more people are willing to come forward to make reports now that they were in the past,” Jackson said. Jackson said in the past there was a stigma associated with reporting sexual assault, and while some still lingers, there is much less today, allowing people to feel more comfortable about making reports.
With different organizations and resources through law enforcement, schools and public agencies, Jackson said people are able to get better access and tools to make reports of crimes. Jackson said it may not be that it is happening more, it could just be that it is being reported more. While technology may have been a cause to increased production of child pornography, some technology is also being implemented to help combat distribution and prevent childhood abuse. Apple has announced that it plans use its technology to scan iPhone for signs of sexual abuse, which would detect know images of child abuse. If a match is found, it would be reviewed by a human who would notify the proper authorities.
