BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – Protecting kids from online predators is a challenge law enforcement agencies across the country are tackling every day.
The internet can be a dangerous place, and predators are getting more creative in the ways they target kids. The Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) has been making major strides in catching online predators, working around the clock to track them down before they can do harm. The task force spends every day fighting one of the darkest crimes, online child exploitation.
A lot of their cases come from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, in the form of cyber tips.
“Which are reports made by members of the public or service providers, Google, Microsoft, Meta—they identify or become aware of suspected child exploitation and send reports to the National Center. Then forwards those reports the 61 ICAC task forces across the U.S,” said Captain Stephen Anders, Commander, Southern Virginia ICAC Task Force.
From there, investigators work to track down predators before they can harm a child. Some cases start with cyber tips. Others begin with proactive investigations, which include officers posing as children online to catch predators in the act.
“Where they might be online pretending to be a child, or they might be pretending to be an adult looking for a child, or looking into child sex trafficking,” said Anders.
The goal is to gain a predator’s trust, gather evidence, and arrest them. And the work is paying off. Just last week, the task force rescued two children from exploitation. Over the weekend, they arrested an 82-year-old man in Bedford County, for child pornography and allegedly trying to meet up with a child. This follows a string of other recent arrests.
“I started working in the ICAC task force program in 2008, and I’ve only seen it grow. Last year, with those cyber tips with got from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children broke over 10,600 cyber tips alone in southern Virginia.”
With kids spending more time online, Anders says it’s critical for parents to have open, serious conversations about internet safety.
“Predators are out there. They can be on any site, appearing friendly, trying to gain your trust. If anyone asks for explicit content, say no… That can follow you for the rest of your life,” said Anders.
Investigators have also seen a rise in online sextortion cases, particularly targeting teenage boys.
And the task force has a message for predators; your time is running out.
Copyright 2025 WDBJ. All rights reserved.