Collin County child advocacy organization recognized for efforts to prevent cybercrimes against children

Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County (CACCC) was honored with the FBI’s Director’s Community Leadership Award (DCLA) from FBI Director James Comey in recognition of its efforts to inform children and parents of online dangers through its Internet Safety education program. CACCC CEO Lynne McLean will accept the award on behalf of the Center at the CACCC’s annual Gala, Saturday April 23 to be presented by Special Agent in Charge Thomas M. Class, Sr.

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The Bureau has presented DCLA Awards for more than two decades to ordinary citizens and organizations striving to build stronger, safer, and more cohesive communities, and CACCC is honored to be among the 2015 recipients of this prestigious award.
Special Agent in Charge Thomas M. Class, Sr. noted that prevention is key to reducing the occurrence of technology-facilitated crimes against children and to protect children from becoming victims of pornographers and traffickers.
Plano Det. Jeff Rich, a member of the FBI Dallas Child Exploitation Task Force, nominated CACCC for the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award in recognition of its efforts to efficiently train children and adults to avoid online threats and allowing our local cybercrime detectives to remain focused on the work of apprehending predators and identifying victims.
Since the program’s inception in 2013, more than 14,000 adults and children have received valuable information on how to stay safe online – either directly from a CACCC staff member or from a Collin County School Resource Officer.
This year’s DCLA honorees, as in past years, were selected by FBI field offices and represent many different sectors—non-profits, business, military, academia, the clergy, behavioral sciences, the media, sports, and civic groups. But while their backgrounds may differ, they all have the same overarching goal: Change their communities for the better and make a positive difference in the lives of other people.
Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County co-houses two cyber-crime detectives who work in conjunction with the FBI’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Innocent Images International Task Force to investigate online crimes against children and apprehend pedophiles who produce and distribute child pornography.

As one of the only children’s advocacy centers nationwide to have in-house cyber-crime detectives, these local experts quickly became known throughout Collin County for their community trainings focused on educating children and parents about online dangers. As awareness of online crimes against children grew, so did demand in our local community for educational events to help prevent children from becoming victims. Working closely with Sgt. Chris Meehan of the Collin County Sheriff’s Office and Det. Jeff Rich of Plano Police Department, the CACCC identified key staff members and local School Resource Officers who could facilitate these trainings for parents and children.