Undercover Secret Service agents working to stop child sexual exploitation

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Tucked deep inside Chicago's Secret Service field office, special agents are plotting their next operation to get a child predator off the streets.

New equipment was just added to a dedicated investigations lab. Special Agent Zoe is working undercover as part of the Internet Crimes Against Children, or ICAC, Task Force. We are not using her last name because the Secret Service says it could impede their investigations.

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"I had to learn quickly how to handle seeing the information myself, or, you know, seeing the content. Someone reports...an instance of possible type pornography. And from then on, you have to verify it's whether it's child porn. And then you start your investigation," Zoe told the I-Team.

The Secret Service is one of many federal, state and local law enforcement agencies that make up the ICAC program. It was developed in 1998 to deal with the increasing number of children and teens being abused online.

They investigate tips from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

"We've had people that sell their own children for this and take photos of their children, inappropriate photos of their children, and then send them out throughout the internet," said the undercover supervisor of the Secret Service's Chicago team who is currently leading a sting operation.

"This morning, I was here at three o'clock doing an operation plan because I couldn't sleep, because I was excited to get this guy off the street," he told the I-Team.

Inside, the lab agents are using technology to gather evidence: analyzing devices, tracking digital footprints and recovering deleted data.

"The agents work very hard beyond your normal nine to five to investigate these cases. We're protecting the most vulnerable in our society, and these are children that can't protect them themselves," said James Morley, assistant special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service Chicago field office.

In 2022, ICAC Task Forces reviewed more than one and a half million reports of child exploitation nationwide. Their investigations led to nearly 11,000 arrests during the last fiscal year, and a total of 130,000 over the past two-and-a-half decades.

Bruce Claver of Glenview is charged with a dozen counts of possessing child pornography. Claver pleaded not guilty and is back in court Tuesday. The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force helped Glenview police with the investigation.

Agents tell the I-Team the work they do can be emotionally exhausting.

"So, I luckily just have been able to talk through it and kind of set some boundaries for myself. You can take that mental health break to recover," said Zoe.

"You see so much of the evil and the bad of society. Normal people don't look at this stuff. So, am I glad I'm doing it, yes, but it does wear on you very easily," said Zoe's supervisor.

Agents volunteer to work on the task force and can step back from the work at any time if it becomes too much.

"I think it's absolutely an incredible mission to safeguard our children," Zoe told the I-Team.

Investigators advise parents to talk to their children about the dangers of the criminals that are lurking online.

The $40 million per year program is partially funded by the Department of Justice. ICAC trained 70,000+ law enforcement officers and prosecutors last year on the latest techniques to investigate child exploitation cases.