For more than 20 years, I’ve been on the front lines combatting the sexual exploitation of children at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). Throughout this time, I’ve witnessed the evolution of technology and the Internet along with the dangers and intersections within child safety.
This isn’t going to be an easy read. I acknowledge the topic of children being sexually exploited is something we would all rather not think about or even have to acknowledge exists. I can understand why parents may want to avoid discussions on the topic of child sexual abuse, let alone talk about it with their children. However, not thinking about it or acknowledging it doesn’t make it go away. Instead, it unintentionally cracks open the door for those who are targeting children to “walk through” on computers, tablets, phones, and gaming consoles. The reality is, that internet-facilitated sexual exploitation of children is happening every day, and no community, neighborhood, or area is immune.
Ashley Reynolds was 14 from a suburban community when a stranger sent her an email with a sinister message in the subject line: “I have naked pics of you, open this.” She ignored it, thinking it was spam, but he kept emailing, then texting her, demanding she send him sexually explicit images or he would share the naked pictures with her friends. Very quickly, Ashley became ensnared in sextortion, which is a more recent form of online sexual exploitation directed towards children in which non-physical forms of coercion are used such as blackmail, to acquire sexual content from the child, engage in sex with the child, or obtain money from the child.
After enduring daily threatening demands for more sexually explicit photos and videos, Ashley felt there was no other alternative than to comply. She was being held hostage in her own home by an offender who lived thousands of miles away.
“I was virtually kidnapped,” said Ashley, who felt “terrorized” and too afraid to tell anyone. “I was abducted by a stranger. My parents saw me every single day, but they had no idea.”
After watching their child’s happy demeanor deteriorate over several months, Ashley’s parents signed onto her computer to see what was going on and made the shocking discovery. Right away, Ashley’s mom called NCMEC and made a report to our CyberTipline.
Situations like this are exactly why we established the CyberTipline, so the public, families, and electronic service providers would have a place to make reports of suspected online sexual exploitation and get help for child survivors.
Since 1998, NCMEC’S CyberTipline has received more than 120 million reports, a staggering number that has been growing exponentially in recent years. Last year alone, we received more than 29.3 million reports, an average of 80,000 incidents per day.
From the moment Ashley’s mom contacted NCMEC, we took immediate action. In our role as the national resource center on child sexual exploitation, NCMEC staff quickly reviewed the report, determined whether there was additional information we could add to it through analytical searches, and coordinated a same-day referral to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The FBI conducted a thorough investigation which ultimately led to the arrest of Lucas Chansler on charges that he had used the internet to victimize nearly 350 teenage girls from 26 states, three Canadian provinces, and the United Kingdom. Because of these heinous acts, Chansler was sentenced to 105 years in federal prison.

All of this unraveled from one report made by one parent to NCMEC’s CyberTipline.

While it may be comforting to know Lucas Chansler will never exploit another child, the story doesn’t end there for the survivors because he disseminated the imagery depicting their sexual abuse online for others to view and collect. For some of these children, those horrifying moments are frozen in time, memorialized, and are being traded like digital baseball cards amongst individuals with a sexual interest in kids. The imagery continues to live on within vast corners of the internet, even as many of these survivors are now into adulthood.
When this happens, we work tirelessly at NCMEC to notify the hosting provider and have this exploitative content removed. For some survivors, it can feel like a never-ending cycle of content removal, but NCMEC will never stop. We are their hope.
This is happening all around the world, even in your backyard. You may be wondering how you can ensure this doesn’t happen to your child or a child you care about. The first line of defense is always open communication.
Youth may not take the first steps in disclosing to you an uncomfortable online interaction. If during this discussion you hear something that is startling to you, try to react calmly. Don’t show facial reactions that could imply blame, disgust, or anger, but instead continue listening. Assure the child it’s not their fault.

Ask:
Has anyone ever tried talking to you online about inappropriate or sexual things? What did you do?
Do you know how to report, flag, or block people on the websites and apps you use? Can you show me?
Who would you talk to if you were upset by a request you received online?

Reinforce:
You have the right to say “NO” to anyone who talks about or asks you to do something that makes you uncomfortable, even if it’s someone you know.
Block, unfriend, or report anyone sending an unwanted sexual request.
Talk to a friend or an adult you trust if you get upset about a sexual request. Sometimes just talking about it can help.
When something does go wrong online, I’m here for you. Please come to me, and we will get through it together.

What to do if you have been a victim of blackmail online:

Stop communication – resist the urge to engage with the suspect.
Don’t comply with the threat – never pay money and never send additional explicit images.
Preserve evidence – take screenshots of the communication and keep information such as the suspect’s usernames and social media account information. Do not delete or deactivate your account.
Report – report the suspect’s account on the social media platform and at
CyberTipline.org

If you believe you are the victim of exploitation, you can make a report at www.cybertipline.org or you can make a report over the phone. Our call center (1-800-843-5678) is available 24 hours, seven days a week, and our staff is here to connect you to the resources you need and deserve. ❦

About the Author
John Shehan joined the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in February 2000. He is responsible for NCMEC’s operations relating to sexual crimes committed against children, including online child pornography, enticement, and other instances of child sexual exploitation. In this role, he also conducts interviews with the news media about issues relating to Internet-facilitated crimes committed against children; testifies on behalf of NCMEC; and provides training and information sessions for the public, private industry, other nonprofit organizations, and law enforcement agencies.
He served as president of the INHOPE Foundation between 2012 and 2014 where he helped cultivate and develop hotlines in Central and South America and the Asian Pacific. He also served as vice president of the INHOPE Association between 2012 and 2016 and in 2018.
He served as a technical advisory board member to the Internet Safety Technical Taskforce, led by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and was appointed to the Online Safety Technology Working Group.
Mr. Shehan received his Bachelor of Science with a major in criminal justice from Radford University in 1999, received an Executive Leadership Certificate from Cornell University in 2018, and currently serves as an advisory board member to the College of Humanities & Behavioral Sciences at Radford University.

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