Topic: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

All Content

Modern Parenthood
Etan Patz: His disappearance started the era of parent anxiety

Etan Patz disappeared in 1979 and so did a nation's innocence. He vanished in broad daylight in Manhattan, sparking an era of parent anxiety – Amber alerts, milk carton photos – and  sheltered American children.
Penn State lesson: what to do if you suspect sexual abuse of a child

Whether or not Mike McQueary told police of the alleged sexual assault of a young boy, the Penn State scandal raises the issue of how to handle such cases. Every US state has its own laws.
Horizons
AMBER Alert awareness day: How you can help on Facebook

AMBER Alert messages now available through Facebook, just in time for AMBER Alert awareness day.
Children's advocate decries Roman Polanski release

A Swiss judge's decision not to extradite director Roman Polanski to the US is 'disturbing,' says a leading children's advocate. The filmmaker had faced sentencing in a 1977 child sex case.
Jaycee Dugard video a plea for privacy

The Jaycee Dugard video was seen Thursday on ABC's 'Good Morning America,' the first time she has appeared publicly since her 18-year kidnapping ordeal.
Sean Goldman case highlights rising international child abduction

The Sean Goldman case, which resolved Tuesday when a Brazil judge ordered the boy to be returned to his American dad, is one of a sharply rising number of international child abduction cases in the US.
Texas judge refuses bid to make child porn users pay damages

A federal judge in Texas Monday sentenced a man to two years in prison for possession of child porn, but refused to make him pay $3.4 million in restitution to the girl in the pictures. Prosecuting lawyers called the ruling a setback for victims of child porn.
On Halloween, many sex offenders must post 'No Candy Here' signs

The trend is growing among states and cities. Some sex offenders are also ordered not to wear costumes or answer the door on Halloween.
Why did Jaycee stay?

To assume that Dugard, held captive for 18 years, could have just run away is not to understand the power that captors can hold over young kidnap victims, experts say.
What can be learned from Jaycee Dugard's kidnapping ordeal?

Few abducted children held for long periods return alive. Her case offers hope for other cold cases, as well as 'opportunities to learn.'
Craigslist under fire over erotic ads

Murder and assaults in Boston prompt changes in the online advertising company.
ISPs take major step in curbing child porn

Three major firms agreed June 10 to purge images from their Web servers.
Web-safety lessons from teachers and 12-year-olds

Virginia schools are the first to mandate Internet safety classes. But are kids listening?