Child Safety

Keeping Children Safe from Online Child Sex Predators

As the former Southern Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Commander for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Kimber Bustos has appeared on KSAT, KXAN, News West 9 and Fox News and affiliate stations across the United States and participated in radio station interviews discussing her experiences with investigations of child exploitation and child pornography.

The details of these investigations are disturbing. While posing undercover as a child between 8 and 13 years old online, the CEO Kimber Bustos received thousands of sexually explicit messages from men and sometimes women from all over the world during her years of investigations. For each hour she spent online, she received an average, one nude or inappropriate photograph per minute from men who knew her profile was that of a minor.

Although the majority of the conversations themselves were too graphic to broadcast or even repeat during her many interviews, the message that she conveyed was clear. Sexual predators have a goal in common when contacting an under-aged child and that is to engage in sexually inappropriate conversation, to obtain sexually suggestive or nude photographs and in some cases, even to lure the minor into meeting in person to engage in sexual contact.

When asked how long it takes for a child sexual predator to actually arrange and show up to meet a minor, her answer is always shocking. Predators often begin to suggest a meeting within minutes and arrests have taken place within only a few hours from the first contact. One of the most disturbing facts when conducting the investigations is even though meetings are being set with an undercover officer all over the world, so many more are being arranged with an actual child who is subsequently victimized, held captive and often killed.

There were years in which over 2000 cases were filed statewide and as many as 250 reports per month were distributed to the Southern Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for investigation. Kimber Bustos has arrested hundreds of child-sex predators over her 25 year career.

Since becoming a Private Investigator in 2015, Kimber has still maintained her commitment to protecting children through her private investigations work. She continues to provide investigative resources, educational information, and consultations for protecting those that cannot protect themselves. If you suspect a child is being sexually exploited, contact Kimber or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.