U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in collaboration with international law enforcement agencies, conducted Operation Renewed Hope III from February 24 to March 7. This operation aimed to identify victims of online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The ICE Homeland Security Investigations-led initiative resulted in the identification of 36 victims and generated more than 380 investigative leads concerning additional victims. Sean Fitzgerald, Assistant Director of ICE HSI Cyber and Operational Technology, stated, “Every day, the dedicated professionals at ICE HSI work relentlessly to safeguard children from online exploitation."
During the operation, ICE HSI and partners analyzed a substantial amount of data—83,000 files or 216 GB—which included unidentified images and videos of child sex abuse material. These were used to create lead packages for further law enforcement actions.
Mike Prado, Deputy Assistant Director of ICE HSI who leads the DHS Cyber Crimes Center, emphasized the need for global cooperation: “The exploitation of children is a profound global crisis that requires a unified, all-encompassing response.”
The operation produced 251 foreign and 135 domestic leads targeting offenders operating on various internet platforms. Leads were cross-referenced with Interpol’s International Child Sexual Exploitation Database before being shared globally with HSI field offices and partners in 47 countries.
Operation Renewed Hope III involved various domestic partners such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children; Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section; Thomson Reuters Special Services; FBI; Northern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Internationally, the operation included victim identification specialists from countries like Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy among others. Agencies involved included An Garda Siochana; Australian Federal Police; Brazil Federal Police; Bundeskriminalamt (BKA); Europol; INTERPOL; Royal Canadian Mounted Police among others.
“This operation marks our most successful of its kind,” concluded Prado.
In fiscal year 2024 alone, ICE HSI identified or rescued 1,783 child victims in exploitation investigations while supporting nearly 7,000 new investigations and arresting close to 5,000 individuals for crimes involving child sexual exploitation.
Anyone suspecting a child might be a victim is encouraged to contact local authorities or reach out via various tip lines provided by ICE. The public can also follow updates on social media channels linked to ICE HSI’s operations against child exploitation.
Know2Protect is a campaign by DHS aimed at educating people about preventing online child sexual exploitation. More resources are available through Know2Protect's platforms.
