Speaker Officer Russ Helmueller
Russ Helmueller, Greg LaMere
Lakeville Police Chief Jeff Long introduced our speaker Russ Helmueller. Officer Helmueller shared some information on his work with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC). He shared that he investigates complaints of the electronic solicitation and exploitation of children which often brings him to the undercover chat rooms on the dark web. He works alongside other ICAC task force agencies to train and to help protect children.
Chief Long was quoted in the Aug 6, 2015, “SunThisWeek” article that “There is no mistake as to age with these victims,”. “These cases involve the very dark side of human behavior. Despite this, Russ is tenacious in his pursuit of these predators and pedophiles.”
Officer Helmueller said over the last decade, the number of child pornography cases he investigates has steadily increased, changing from underground exchanges of video tapes and magazines to material being shared and consumed completely online.
Officer Helmueller shared that there are millions of pictures of children being brutally sexually assaulted, and he is always on alert for new victims.
“You never know when you’re going to come across a picture of some young child that is currently being abused,” He said he investigates video tape evidence with the audio off so he does not hear the children’s screams.
Officer Helmuellers work is “mentally and emotionally challenging” and last September he was honored as the first Officer of the Year for the City of Lakeville.