SALT LAKE CITY — In late March, Utah Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force combined investigative information with Alabama authorities, leading to the arrest of 29-year-old Brenson Forrest Humphreys on four counts of possession of child pornography and one count each of transmitting obscene material to a minor and electronic solicitation of a child.

“Utah’s ICAC Task Force is known as a leader among peer agencies in other states due to our excellent investigators and prosecutors and the development and implementation of in-house technologies,” Attorney General Sean Reyes said. “Because our ICAC tools are so effective, we have shared many of our resources with other agencies throughout the nation and world as we work together to fight online child pornography and predatory behavior. Thank you to ICAC Section Director Special Agent Jessica Farnsworth and her dedicated team for ensuring that every ICAC case is given the investigative attention necessary to shut down these crimes.”

Read more: Innocence lost to Internet nightmare: Web predators, online sex hits close to home

The minor lives in Utah, and the alleged perpetrator in Alabama. Utah ICAC agents and Alabama authorities worked together through discovery and the case was transferred to Alabama ICAC. Shortly after, Humphreys was arrested.

“All families who have children on the web should be having regular conversations about Internet safety,” Reyes said. “Many parents have a difficult time imagining their children talking to dangerous strangers, but it happens too regularly. Although our ICAC Task Force works around the clock with futuristic technologies to remove threats before perpetrators reach out personally to children, there are constant threats and it is critical that parents stay actively involved.”

Resources

• Internet Safety Tips for Parents by Utah NetSmartz
• Keeping Kids Safer on the Internet by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Related posts

• FCC’s Open Internet rules; death to the Internet? Utah congressmen react
• Innocence lost to Internet nightmare: Web predators, online sex hits close to home
• Hatch, Blunt call for more awareness on issues of Internet governance
• Attorney General Reyes, Google Execs meet on internet safety

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews