Epidemic Online

50,000 Predators a Minute

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2006 — There are as many as 50,000 predators online trolling for child sex victims at any given time, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said today in announcing a new federal policy to deal with the problem.

As part of a new program called Project Safe Childhood, all U.S. attorneys from across the country are directed to work with local and federal agencies to develop a strategic plan to combat the growing problem, which Gonzales called an "epidemic."

"It has been estimated that, at any given time, 50,000 predators are on the Internet prowling for children," Gonzales said.

Ernie Allen, director of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said while there are more investigations and prosecutions of such cases, "the bad news is that this problem is far greater than any of us thought." FBI director Robert Mueller said the bureau has more than 2,400 child exploitation investigations under way.

Since 1998, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has received approximately 400,000 tips about the exploitation and abuse of children, and the overwhelming majority of them were related to child pornography.

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ABC News' Pierre Thomas contributed to this report.