Between August 1st and 3rd of 2023, the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office’s Criminal Investigation’s (CID) ICAC Detective, in collaboration with 17 other law enforcement agencies, executed Operation Child Predator which resulted in the arrest of 19 adult men who traveled to Randolph County with the intention of sexually exploiting a child. These arrests did not account for individuals who made plans to come to Randolph County for those same intentions but did not travel during the dates of the operation. Our team shared investigative leads with law enforcement in the respective jurisdictions, and those individuals were arrested at their locations, one as far away as Illinois. The operation proved that child sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking are much more prevalent than most know or are willing to admit.
The operation was an eye-opener for our community and has been a topic of many conversations and phone calls since that time. The Sheriff’s Office has two detectives assigned to the ICAC unit who, due to the overwhelming number of ICAC tips and child welfare referrals from DSS, simply cannot be proactive in the investigation of online child solicitation and exploitation. In conversations with other Sheriffs in the state, this is a common problem shared by many jurisdictions.
A local counter human trafficking organization, Lantern Rescue approached Sheriff Seabolt with the proposal of partnering with them to start a fusion center in Randolph County for the purpose of proactively investigating child exploitation, solicitation, and trafficking. Sheriff Seabolt then reached out to the Sheriffs of Alamance, Davidson, and Forsyth counties, the State Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security, to initiate a partnership for the fusion center as a force multiplier and a collaboration of resources. By partnering with other Sheriffs’ offices, the SBI and Homeland Security Investigations, the fusion center task force will provide a full-scale forensic lab, staffed with a technician, analyst, and administrative assistant to provide the administrative support and technological assistance to streamline investigations, allowing detectives to shift posture and lead proactive investigations focused on the trafficking and exploitation of children. The fusion center will be referred to as The Invictus Project.
Randolph County’s geographical location in the center of the state makes us a prime location to assist agencies all over the state in training new ICAC detectives, collaborating on operations in other jurisdictions, and providing technical assistance to agencies who lack the necessary resources to proactively investigate these cases, and contribute to the shared body of knowledge in combating those that seek to exploit our children.
Only two ICAC Fusions Centers exist in the United States, one in Tennessee and one in Florida. Members of the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, a Lantern Rescue Representative, and an Assistant District Attorney traveled to Homeland Security field office in Jacksonville, Florida in August for a site visit of The Intercept Task Force. While there, they met with a representative of a local Counter Human Trafficking Organization that helps fund the fusion center in Jacksonville. That office has seen great success with its collaborative efforts and therefore opened another Intercept Task Force in Southern Florida in October. The Invictus Project is designed as a similar model but modified to address internet crime trends specific to central North Carolina.
On Monday, December 4th, at the regular monthly County Commissioners’ meeting, Sheriff Seabolt presented a proposal to fund The Invictus Project. Following the presentation, the Commissioners unanimously approved the request and adopted the budget amendment.
“Our children are our most precious resource and deserve our best efforts to protect them from the evils of society. In many cases, persons convicted of child sex offenses admit that they have abused other children. It is only logical to assume that these individuals will continue to abuse children until they are caught. It is therefore imperative that we take a proactive approach to catch these predators and prevent future abuse to every extent possible.” Sheriff Greg Seabolt
