The Innocent Justice Foundation Issues a Plea for Help in Middle Tennessee

Since becoming a contributor on Associated Content in March of last year, I have written many articles dealing with the subject of incest, rape, and sexal abuse of children. I was beginning to think that, perhaps, I needed to change my focus and was struggling with finding something new to write about. While it is true that I have written articles on a variety of topics, my main focus has been on the sexual abuse of children.

In the midst of uncertainty, I received a very lovely note from the President and CEO of an organization called The Innocent Justice Foundation. Her note was so very positive and encouraging that I began to face my task with renewed strength and vigor.

Along with her kind words of encouragement, there was also more information about the enormity of the task before us as a nation. She told me that "despite the increase in funding, the ICAC is still drowning in cases - in fact they can only investigate about 1% of the known child predators they can locate and identify." That is a sobering statistic.

She was also kind enough to give me some information which strikes closer to home. The Franklin (TN) Police Department's Special Victims Unit (SVU/ICAC) is in desperate need of newer and more up-dated equipment to help rescue children right here in Middle Tennessee. She asked me to help get the word out on this need, so that is what I am doing in this article.

There are 15 Middle Tennessee counties that are supported by the Franklin Police Department. Within those counties there are 197,000 children, with 21% of those children being sexually abused, according to statistics provided by The Innocent Justice Foundation. Remember, these are not just statistics, but rather, more than 41,000 children.

In 2005, The Franklin Police Department was chosen by the Knoxville Police Department's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force as the chief affiliate in Middle Tennessee. There are 59 of these task forces operating across the country and within each of those task forces, other cities become affiliates that serve in conjunction with the ICAC Task Force in their state or area.

Today, The Franklin Police Department is struggling beneath a heavy load of reported cases of sex crimes against children in Middle Tennessee. In 2008, The National Law Center for Children and Families received the Child Defender Award for their work in rescuing Middle Tennessee children from harm.

Cases in point: The arrest of a 36-year-old Spring Hill, TN man who crossed state lines into Georgia to rape an 8-month-old baby. The arrest of a 49-year-old Madison, TN man who was trying to arrange sex with a twelve-year-old. The arrest of an Atlanta man who traveled to Winchester, TN in order to sell pornography along with drugs. The arrest of a Coffee County man who had downloaded more than 10,000 child sexual assault images from a peer-to-peer network. As distressing and troubling as these cases are, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

The work that is being done by The Franklin Police Department and other law enforcement agencies across our country is difficult work. It means that those in law enforcement jobs must get down into the muck and mire of sexual assault, sexual abuse, rape, pornography and pedophilia. Not only do they rescue these horrifically violated children, they console them, put them into position for receiving the help they need to recover and prosecute the offenders. It is a huge job and a job that requires not only the dedication and time of these officials, but also a lot of money.

Right now, The Franklin (TN) Police Department, SVU/ICAC needs help from the citizens of Tennessee. They are in dire need of more equipment in order to do a more effective job of rescuing these innocent children who are being victimized by these pedophiles and perpetrators of crimes that would far exceed our imaginations. They are asking for local residents in Middle Tennessee to help out with contributions so they can continue to do battle with this vast network of Internet Pedophiles who feed on pornography and then act out their deeds upon innocent children. As citizens of this country, we all have a duty and an obligation to do what we can. Together we can make a difference. In the words of former Prime Minster, Winston Churchill, in a broadcast speech in 1941, "Give us the tools and we'll finish the job."

Sources:
http://www.innocentjustice.org/
email from Heather Steele, President & CEO of The Innocent Justice Foundation