Kane County Launches New Child Exploitation Unit

KANE COUNTY, IL — The Kane County State's Attorney's Office has launched a new child exploitation unit in response to higher rates of child pornography and online child exploitation cases and reports across the county and U.S.

Kane County State's Attorney Jamie Mosser announced the launch of the new unit Monday at a news conference at the St. Charles Police Department.

Mosser said the unit first started work in August, and, since then, has received 187 tips, conducted 55 investigations and filed charges against nine adults, according to the Daily Herald.

In total, 55 underage victims were identified, Mosser said.

In 2021, there were nearly 30 million reports of online child sexual exploitation made in the United States, according to the most recent data available from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. This is an increase of more than 42 percent since 2019, and local officials say federal, state and local law enforcement has been unable to keep up.

The new Kane County child exploitation unit is a joint initiative of the Kane County State's Attorney's Office, the Kane County Sheriff's Office and the St. Charles Police Department.

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