U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder spoke on Monday at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Va., and announced a national strategy for the prevention and interdiction of child exploitation.

That strategy “provides the first ever comprehensive threat assessment of the dangers facing children from child pornography, Internet predators, and other dangers, and outlines a cooperative effort to combat these crimes.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana “has been actively engaged for years in the investigation and prosecution of crimes against children,” the Northern District said in a statement released on Monday.

In the past six months alone, 12 persons have been sentenced collectively in the Northern District to more than 120 years in prison, including—last week—Nathaniel Worden of Valparaiso, who was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a charge of advertising child pornography.

Through its Law Enforcement Coordination Committee, the Northern District “is dedicated to providing an overall strategy to fight these crimes against children,” one component of which is the Child Sexual Predator Program (CSPP), a two-year grant program awarded to the Northern District and administered in conjunction with the Highland Police Department and the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

“The CSPP is dedicated in insuring that sex offenders are in compliance with the terms of their probation/parole, improving information sharing between law enforcement and other service providers, managing high-risk offenders, enhancing efforts to locate, arrest, and prosecute child sex offenders, and providing training to law enforcement and community outreach.”

Last month, the Northern District said, the U.S. Marshal’s Service in conjunction with LaPorte County authorities conducted a compliance check of registered sex offenders in LaPorte County. A total of 127 offenders was check and eight arrests made for non-compliance, the Northern District said.

In addition, the Northern District is “heavily involved in community outreach and law enforcement training programs relating to crimes against children.” So far in 2010 the office has presented programs to around 4,800 students and 200 parents and school administrators as well as coordinated four training events serving 172 law enforcement officers.

Posted 8/4/2010