Human trafficking task forces in west and central Alabama are urging parents to become more involved in the fight against child sexual exploitation, especially as online threats continue to increase.
“Parents are recognizing—through their kids—that their children are being targeted on the internet,” said West Alabama INTERCEPT Task Force Captain Phil Simpson. “But they don’t know what to do.”
Last month, the INTERCEPT Task Force asked parents to participate in an anonymous survey to better understand their knowledge of trafficking, how exploitation occurs, prevention efforts, online issues affecting children, and where families receive information.
After reviewing the responses, Simpson said the results showed a need for more outreach.
“We really need to step up our game with the parents by getting information out to the parent so they can protect their kids,” Simpson said.
The task force is working to develop workshops for parents, teachers, church leaders, and other community members who work with or care for children. Investigators want to help people recognize warning signs of child exploitation and trafficking and understand how to respond when these situations occur.
“This is happening everywhere,” said Josh Moody, chief operating officer of Covenant Rescue Group.
Covenant Rescue Group, a nonprofit based in Gardendale, has trained more than 300 law enforcement agencies nationwide. The organization teaches officers how to recognize warning signs, gather evidence, and build strong cases for prosecutors to use against offenders.
“That’s how we think we can make the biggest footprint and the biggest impact in the fight against human trafficking and child exploitation,” Moody said.
Since 2024, two law enforcement agencies trained by Covenant have made more than 100 arrests combined.
The organization is also encouraging parents to understand how technology can be used to target children.
“When you give your child a phone, you’re not only giving them access to the world, you’re giving the world access to them. We’ve got to let parents and students know this is a real danger,” Moody said. “If they have a social media account that’s not closely guarded, someone will reach out to them.”
In 2025, the FBI documented more than 1 million cybercrime reports, nearly four times the number reported in 2015. The report showed that extortion was the second most common online crime, with 89,129 complaints filed.
INTERCEPT officials say sextortion cases have increased in recent years.
“During the school year, we are in school on average four to five times a week dealing with child exploitation,” Simpson said.
With approximately 36 weeks in the school year, that could represent at least 144 child exploitation cases, not including cases handled during school breaks.
“The internet gives access to people all over the world to target our kids, and we see that a lot,” Simpson said. “Our goal is to equip parents to be able to intervene on behalf of their children but also teach the teenagers the danger of doing this.”
