The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office has joined the Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
“Within the past decade, Wisconsin’s ICAC Task Force has arrested hundreds of suspects, and we continue to grow by adding more partners,” Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said. “We are pleased to have the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office as our newest member. The training of more officers only furthers my mission to protect Wisconsin’s children and hold offenders accountable.”
“We have seen an increase in Internet crimes against children in our community. Being a part of the ICAC task force will enhance our ability to investigate, aid prosecution and reduce the number of these despicable crimes. We share the concern of Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and look forward to our partnership with ICAC,” Sheriff Jeff Jaeger said.
As part of this affiliation, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office is eligible for: Reimbursement to help fund ICAC-related expenses, including computer hardware and software; notification of and priority for sought-after ICAC-related training, offered both nationally and in Wisconsin; investigative assistance from highly trained ICAC investigators and forensic computer analysts throughout the state; access to the national ICAC email group; recognition on both the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office’s website, and on the Wisconsin Department of Justice website.
One in seven children is asked online to engage in sexual activities, sexual talk, or provide personal sexual information. Van Hollen has placed a priority on law enforcement’s proactive response to the growing problem of Internet crimes against children. To that end, Van Hollen has directed a 67% increase in the number of special agents assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force within the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). In 2012, the ICAC Task Force was responsible for arresting 131 suspected child predators – the highest number of arrests during a calendar year ever recorded for the Task Force. Additionally, in the same year, more than 37,000 individuals attended more than 900 ICAC presentations and community outreach as part of efforts to further the agency’s mission to protect children.
In addition to expanding investigative capacity internally, Van Hollen and the Department of Justice have continued to add local affiliates to the Wisconsin ICAC Task Force.