DENVER — The U.S Department of Justice estimates pornographers have recorded the abuse of more than 1 million children in the U.S.
But programs within the FBI have helped nail some of these criminals: Operation Rescue Me and Endangered Child Alert Program.
The FBI uses images from child porn to catch these perverse criminals. And now it’s asking for your help to rescue a child victim.
They isolate the suspects’ faces and anything in the background that might help lead to their identities.
They are tiny pieces of a puzzle the FBI hopes the public can put together to save children from the dark world of pornography.
One suspect is called John Doe 29.
“This is a person of interest. We don’t believe, at this time, he sexually abused this little girl. But his is someone we want to speak with,” says FBI Special Agent Amy Sanders.
John Doe 29 is holding a victim in his arms in a photo outdoors. She’s a blonde little girl–wearing blue and white Velcro Nike tennis shoes. He wears a silver ring on his left ring finger.
The FBI found this photo among several others of suspects sexually abusing the child–abuse that could still be happening.
Sanders says he could hold critical information to the identity and location of the child.
“John Doe 29 could be in Colorado or anywhere in the U.S. or abroad. We are just seeking information about his whereabouts to interview him,” says Sanders.
The FBI has used this tactic successfully before–where analysts look at the detail in backgrounds of videos and photos.
“We can possibly see a cup, a piece of furniture, or a building or landmark, possibly a building someone from the public may recognize,” says Sanders.
They’ve identified 22 of the now 29 John Doe child exploitation cases.
They’re still looking for John Doe 28. He’s a white man inside a home with a blue chair and a picture hanging on the wall. He wears a burgundy t-shirt with a shark logo.
John Doe 8’s picture is taken from an image where he’s abusing a young girl in 2005. He has a dark, circular mark on his right forearm.
“Any tip is important to the FBI,” says Sanders. They are tips that can forever alter the life of an innocent child by using a suspect’s own video against him.
“To identify and possibly rescue these children is our ultimate goal,” says Sanders.
Pictures of the latest John Doe were taken in 2008. So he is seven years older. He was between 30 and 45 at the time the photo was taken.
If you recognize him or any of the other six John Does listed on the FBI’s website, please call them at 1-800-225-5324 or send the FBI a tip through a form on its website.
You can view the unedited pictures of the John Does here.