MISSION VIEJO – (INT) - Project iGuardian, a first-of-its-kind national cyber safety campaign, was launched Tuesday.

Federal and local law enforcement agencies meeting here pledged determination to curb the escalating number of children falling prey to online sexual predators.

Last year, HSI special agents with Homeland Special Investigations logged nearly a million hours working child sexual exploitation cases. They opened more than 4,000 investigations.

“The online sexual exploitation of children has reached epidemic proportions,” said ICE Deputy Director Daniel Ragsdale. “Increasingly these incidents involve young people who are self-producing explicit images and sending them over the Internet. We can’t arrest our way out of this problem. Raising awareness about the risks that lurk in cyberspace is key to helping keep kids safe.”

Story Date: April 1, 2014