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Child Pornography One of the sadder and more unfortunate by-products of the development and expansion of the Internet has been an explosive growth in the proliferation of child pornography by "traders" online. This material can be accessed easily by anyone, even children. Child pornography is the depiction of a child under the age of eighteen engaged in sexually explicit behavior. Photographs or images are traded among individuals who frequent "chat rooms" or "newsgroups" where child pornography is made available. The types of persons who view and download child pornography range from the simply curious to active pedophiles who are molesting children. The penalties for getting involved in trading child pornography online vary depending on whether the individual has a prior criminal record, the amount traded, and whether the activity included receiving images or transmitting them. More and more, first time offenders are getting jail sentences and repeat offenders are receiving as much as ten years in prison. It's important to remember that if you come across what appears to be child pornography on the Internet, even accidentally, you may not download such an image to your hard drive, disk, or printer without breaking the law. The FBI has primary jurisdiction for investigating child pornography on the Internet. We have a very aggressive and successful national initiative known as "Innocent Images," which targets online child pornographers.  But the problem is a big one and we need the public's help. If you see what you believe is child pornography on the Internet, you should: Note the name of the website, chat room, or newsgroup where you saw the suspected child pornography. If you receive child pornography through unsolicited e-mail, note the sender's screen name and ISP (Internet Service Provider) and forward the entire message (do not copy and paste) to us. DO NOT download the child pornography yourself in order to help the FBI. Click here to immediately provide us with the above information by email. And finally, monitor your children when they are on the Internet. Sexual predators and child molesters will frequent children's chat rooms and pretend to be children themselves in order to trick children into meeting them in person. Back to Top