Investigative Hearings on Internet Child Sex Predators to Continue Next Week | News | Congressman Ed Whitfield

News | Congressman Ed Whitfield | United States Representative

Investigative Hearings on Internet Child Sex Predators to Continue Next Week

Washington, Apr 28 - U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, announced Friday that his Subcommittee will hold the third in its series of hearings entitled, Sexual Exploitation of Children Over the Internet: What Parents, Kids and Congress Need to Know About Child Sex Predators. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, May 3 at 2 p.m. in 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing will be broadcast live over the Internet at http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Hearings/05032006hearing1852/hearing.htm.

Witnesses will include a victim of online sexual exploitation and senior Justice Department officials responsible for combating the multi-billion dollar industry of online child pornography.

The online sexual abuse of children is an astounding and escalating problem, said Whitfield. I look forward to hearing from the Justice Department on their efforts to identify and prosecute pedophiles that prey on the most defenseless individuals in our society. I remain committed to working with my colleagues, law enforcement and participants in the private sector to stop this disgusting criminal behavior once and for all.

At the Subcommittees April 4 hearing, lawmakers heard the riveting testimony of Justin Berry, a teenage honor student and class president turned sexual abuse victim. Beginning at 13, he was repeatedly sexually exploited over the Internet by a variety of men across the United States over the course of a number of years.

My experience is not a isolated as you might hope, Berry said. This is not the story of a few bad kids whose parents paid no attention. There are hundreds of kids in the United States alone who are right now wrapped up in this horror.

At a follow-up hearing on April 6, witnesses from federal and local law enforcement agencies told the Subcommittee that, despite larger budgets and more officers, their efforts are often overwhelmed by the volume of offenders and by uncooperative Internet service providers.

The witness list for Wednesdays hearing has not yet been finalized.

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