Enlisting Wounded Warriors To Combat Child Porn

A silent war is raging all around the world. The intended targets are unsuspecting, vulnerable, and innocent children who will be lured into child pornography. Lurking in the shadows of the internet, one can find these predators – though they are not always easy to identify.

For leaders wondering where to begin, start a Conquer Group at your church is a good resource.

Conversation after conversation gives them the information needed to disguise themselves as someone who can be trusted. They’ll lure their victims through a number of empty promises. And when the moment seems right, they’ll attack – leaving lifelong wounds for those who didn’t deserve them.

Fighting this starts upstream, with men choosing to quit porn for good.

These child predators typically don’t stop after an isolated incident. They’ll pursue more risque ways to interact with kids. Feeding off the excitement of their last ‘hit’, they’ll be desperate for another. But they don’t realize that an entire team is watching, waiting for an opportunity to take them down.

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HEROs In The Fight Against Child Porn

The team lurking in the shadows is a group of men and women who define ‘warrior’. Each of them has seen some of the fiercest battles. All have endured tragedy, loss, and have been wounded. But through it all, they are unwavering in their dedication to their fellow Americans.

Who are they? Wounded veterans, recruited from the most elite units in the United States military. Together, they’ll selflessly devote a year of their lives to one specific cause – bringing an end to child pornography.

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Serving as ‘human exploitation rescue operatives’, otherwise known as HEROs, they’ll train and work alongside law enforcement officials from around the country. Being tasked with building cases and finding suspects will require them to be subjected to graphic content which can help provide clues about victims, their location, and the suspects.

These HEROs expect nothing in return for their service. However, many are offered long-term employment opportunities in various federal, state, and local law enforcement or government agencies upon completion of this one-year program.

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Finding Purpose Again

By 2018, more than 130 veterans had completed the training program successfully. Because of the efforts of Homeland Security and the organizations that partner with them, 820 exploited children were identified and rescued in 2016 alone.

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For the veterans who participate in this program, they are finding purpose once again. For many, this is a tremendous feeling as many felt robbed of their full potential due to their injuries.

Chris Wooten, a wounded U.S. Army ranger, shared how the training program impacted him before returning to his hometown in 2017 to begin his internship. He said,

“I did have a lot of buddies who weren’t able to make it home, that were killed overseas or even individuals that took their own lives when they made it back just because they didn’t have that sense of purpose anymore. I think this opportunity, even though we’re all wounded and can’t do our military job anymore, that this program allows us to serve our country again, and not only that, but help save some kids.”