Katie 
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.
A search warrant was executed yesterday at the Holbrook residence of 27-year-old Carmine Simpson, a member of the New York City Police Department that worked out of the 75the precinct which led to him being arrested a short time later.
An investigation conducted by Special Agent Aaron Spivack with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as a part of Project Safe Childhood began after two tips were received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children concerning activities of a Twitter user at the end of December 2020.
According to the probable cause statement, Simpson was found to be the person behind a number of vanity accounts on Twitter, two of which were tied to his residence through the IP address, and four of which traced back to the 75th Precinct.
The phone number used to establish the Twitter account was confirmed to be his as well.
"Based on the Twitter records, which include online chats occurring in or about and between April 2020 and December 2020, the defendant Carmine Simpson communicated with at least 46 apparent minors, who appears to have been between the ages of 13 and 17" for the purpose of obtaining images and videos of were sexually explicit.
When communicating with these children, he did so by presenting himself as a 17-year-old.
During the execution of the search warrant yesterday, Spivack, a 12-year-veteran of the FBI, recovered 81 videos and 180 pictures from Simpson's possession.
Simpson made his first appearance in court yesterday afternoon before United State Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen Tomlinson where he entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of sexual exploitation of children.
He was ordered to be held without bail and has been suspended from the police force without pay, according to News 12. He had been with the police for two years, and his attorney has requested that he be placed into protective custody.
“Instead of protecting the community as a sworn police officer, the defendant has preyed upon and sexually exploited the most vulnerable members,” stated Acting United States Attorney DuCharme in a release issued by the Department of Justice. “The protection of innocent children is a priority for the Department of Justice and this Office will continue to make every effort to ensure that those who contribute to the victimization of children will be brought to justice.”
“As a law enforcement officer, Mr. Simpson swore an oath to protect the public he served. We allege he chose instead to manipulate some of our society's most vulnerable citizens when he repeatedly enticed children to create sexually explicit videos and photos,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “Much of this activity occurs through popular social media sites, so I'd ask parents and guardians to take some time to talk with your children about their online activities. You are the first line of defense in protecting our youth from predators. A moment of your time can save a lifetime of trauma. If you believe someone is trying to entice or sexually exploit your child, please report it to us by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or going to tips.fbi.gov."
If convicted of sexual exploitation of a child, Simpson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
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