The Nebraska State Patrol is launching a new effort to provide critical information to parents regarding potential cases of children sharing explicit content online.
The NSP Technical Crimes Unit (TCU) serves as the central repository for all Nebraska-based Cyber Tipline reports received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The volume of reports has increased significantly in recent years. Nebraska is projected to receive more than 7,000 cybertips in 2026 alone. When a tipline report is received it goes through a review process to evaluate potential criminal activity. Tips are then prioritized for further investigative work when they contain imminent risk to the youth in Nebraska or show clear violations of Nebraska Statutes.
Among these reports, the NSP TCU continues to see a growing number – approximately 10% of incoming leads – of cases involving minors sharing sexually explicit content of themselves, both with peers and with potential online predators. To address this trend and better support families, NSP is launching a new initiative to directly notify parents when their child has been identified in reports involving sexually explicit content shared online.
“As parents ourselves, we know that communication and feedback is vital to staying engaged with the children in our households and is essential to keeping them safe at home and online,” said Lieutenant Peter Rutherford, Commander of the Nebraska Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. “Similar correspondence has been used by other ICAC groups before, and after hearing of their successes, we look forward to the opportunities to work together with those most centric in the lives of Nebraska youth.”
As part of the effort, NSP Technical Crimes Unit will send letters to parents or guardians of children who are identified in cybertip cases. The notification will summarize the incident, including the report account info, and provide options for parents to contact NSP TCU with questions. When a letter is received, it provides a great opportunity to speak directly with the youth involved regarding their habits and collaborate on ways to ensure they are safe moving forward.
“Many of those cases are entirely preventable because they involve a child voluntarily sharing these images online,” said Captain Monty Lovelace, Commander of the NSP Technical Crimes Unit. “This proactive effort aims to ensure parents are informed and equipped to address this serious issue, strengthening their ability to keep their children safe online.”
To help prepare for the conversation, a link for resources will be included in the letter. Parents can also seek out educational resources from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. That information is also available to the public at: www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/exploitation-resources
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