Project Rescue Children

Another child’s life was taken because someone believed their body could bring power or wealth. Behind every case of child sacrifice is a child who should still be alive—and people who must be held accountable. Our organisation is leading the way to fight child sacrifice.

Ireland formally identified just 10 child trafficking victims in 2024 and 18 in 2025. None were Irish nationals.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission warns that these figures do not show the true scale of the problem. They show how few children have been recognised.

A child groomed into dealing drugs may be treated as an offender. A child exploited online may be missed entirely. Children in State care and unaccompanied minors face particular risks.

PRC asks parents, teachers and anyone working with children to watch for signs such as:

* Going missing from home, school or care, or unexplained travel.
* Sudden withdrawal, fear or a sharp change in behaviour.
* Money, gifts, clothes or a new phone they cannot explain.
* Secretive online contact or a relationship with a much older person.
* An adult who controls where they go or speaks for them.
* Signs of injury, neglect or sexual exploitation.

One sign alone does not prove a child is being trafficked. But concerns should be taken seriously, especially when several signs appear together. Listen to the child without blaming them and report your concern to child protection services or police. You do not need to prove trafficking before raising a concern.

Ireland has passed legislation for a system that would allow more agencies and NGOs to identify victims and refer them for support. IHREC says it has still not been brought into effect.

How many children have we failed to see?

www.projectrescuechildren.org

A predator’s hidden camera in plain sight.

Smart glasses are spreading rapidly across the world—but child-safety policies are failing to keep up.

A predator no longer needs to hold up a phone or carry an obvious camera. They can look directly at a child while discreetly taking photographs, recording video or livestreaming what they see.

They could be used to:

• Record children at schools and playgrounds
• Film children in swimwear at pools and beaches
• Capture footage inside changing rooms
• Record private conversations
• Identify uniforms, locations and daily routines
• Upload and distribute footage within seconds
• Collect images that can be manipulated using AI

Some glasses display a small recording light, but it may be difficult to notice, covered or tampered with. Most children—and many adults—would never realise they were being recorded.

This is a global concern. Schools, swimming pools, leisure centres, workplaces and secure facilities worldwide are beginning to restrict camera-enabled glasses. Some are banning them in public schools, while governments and privacy regulators in some countries are being forced to consider stronger controls.

PRC believes smart glasses should be prohibited anywhere children undress, swim or should reasonably expect privacy. Schools and sporting organisations also need strict policies governing when and where they may be worn.

Technology itself is not the enemy. The danger is how easily it can be misused by someone targeting children.

Parents need to recognise these devices. Organisations responsible for children need policies now—not after a child’s privacy has already been violated.

If someone is wearing smart glasses around children in a sensitive environment, alert staff and ask what safeguards are in place.

Protecting children must come before convenience.

A safer world for children.

www.projectrescuechildren.org

A huge thank you to our official UK supporter for their incredibly generous £7,000 donation towards our new International Child Offender Task Force.

To convicted foreign paedophiles hiding abroad surrounded by vulnerable children: you are now on notice. No more hiding in plain sight.

Our task force will work alongside law enforcement and immigration agencies to locate you, support your arrest and help ensure you are deported to face justice.

If you want to help us turn intelligence into action, become an *official supporter* or donate directly to the task force.

Your support helps us find those who believe they can hide within vulnerable communities and beyond borders.

We hunt those who hunt children.

www.projectrescuechildren.org

Sextortion is killing children — and boys are being heavily targeted.

The tactic is simple, calculated and devastating.

A fake account posing as a teenage girl contacts a boy through social media, gaming platforms or messaging apps. The offender builds trust, moves the conversation into a private chat and persuades him to send an intimate image.

The trap then closes.

Within minutes, the offender may produce a collage containing the image alongside photographs of the victim, his school, family and friends. He is threatened that everything will be distributed unless he sends money, gift cards or more explicit material.

Paying rarely ends it. It usually leads to further demands.

The FBI says victims of financially motivated sextortion are typically boys aged 14–17. In one year, US authorities received more than 7,000 reports involving at least 3,000 children—primarily boys. More than a dozen victims were reported to have died by su***de. Australian authorities have reported receiving around 300 cases every month while estimating that only 10–15% are ever reported.

Teenagers have taken their own lives within hours of being targeted, believing exposure will destroy their lives. It will not—but in that moment, fear and shame can make it feel that way.

Police cannot control this threat alone. These criminal networks operate across borders, create endless fake accounts and can target thousands of children from a single device.

Education must begin before the message arrives.

Parents and schools must teach children that:

• Anyone online can be using a fake identity
• Never send an intimate image to someone online
• Never pay or send more material
• Save the messages and evidence
• Block and report the account—but do not delete the conversation
• Tell a trusted adult immediately
• You are the victim. You are not in trouble, and your life is not ruined

The most important words a child can hear are: “Whatever has happened, come to me. I will help you—not punish you.”

Silence protects offenders. Education protects children.

Statistics Source: FBI, U.S. DOJ⁠, AFP.

www.projectrescuechildren.org

Finland is prosecuting a 28-year-old man over alleged sexual offences involving 361 boys, in a case that investigators say may involve around 900 potential victims across the country.

Prosecutors allege that the defendant used Snapchat over several years to contact children, obtain sexually explicit material and in some cases secretly record content sent to him.

Pirkanmaa District Court in Tampere opened the trial on Monday with the public presentation of the case. From Tuesday, the main hearings will be held behind closed doors because the proceedings involve children and allegations of sexual offences. The court has allocated roughly 45 hearing days for the case, with proceedings expected to continue until the end of the year. A verdict is anticipated in early 2027.

The defendant faces charges including aggravated sexual abuse of a child, sexual abuse of a child and aggravated distribution of an image depicting a child in a sexually offensive manner. Prosecutors say the alleged offences occurred between 2019 and 2022, when the man was aged between 21 and 24.

All 361 identified complainants are boys aged between nine and 15, prosecutors said. They lived in different parts of Finland and, according to the prosecution, were contacted online rather than targeted in a single location.

Police estimate that the defendant may have been in contact with about 900 children. Of those, around 530 people appearing in material recovered during the investigation have not yet been identified.

Prosecutors allege that the defendant approached children on Snapchat while pretending to be a girl. He allegedly used the name Emilia and related usernames when communicating with some of the boys. According to the prosecution, he sent sexual images and videos to the children before asking them to send similar material in return.

The allegations go beyond simply requesting images. Prosecutors say the defendant instructed some children about what should be shown in videos and secretly recorded material sent to him through Snapchat. The children allegedly believed that much of what they shared would disappear because of the application’s messaging features.

Investigators recovered more than 4,200 images and videos linked to identified complainants. Ilta-Sanomat reported that 3,225 of the 4,223 files examined contained sexual material.

The case concerns alleged offences committed online. Prosecutors have not accused the defendant of meeting the children to carry out the acts covered by the current charges.

The investigation has also revealed links between the defendant and some of the children outside social media. Some boys already knew him through sport or through his work as a substitute teacher.

Yle reported that the defendant had played floorball at Finland’s highest league level and had been involved in junior coaching and youth camps. For some complainants, those connections appear to have helped establish familiarity before or alongside the alleged online contact.

Lawyer Jyri Kilpi, who represents 77 of the complainants, told the court that sport was a connection to many of his clients. He said 70 of the children he represents had participated in team sports, while the other seven had friends who had done so.

The defendant did not appear physically in the Tampere courtroom on Monday. He joined the hearing by video link from Kanta-Hame District Court. Images from the proceedings showed him covering much of his face.

His lawyer told the court that the defendant regrets his actions and has largely accepted the prosecution’s account. The defence said roughly 90 percent of the alleged acts have been admitted. The remaining disputes relate to cases where the defendant could not clearly remember details during the police investigation.

The wider investigation began after police seized the defendant’s phone in late 2022 during an unrelated criminal case. Investigators then discovered a large quantity of material involving children, leading to a much broader investigation.

Police spent about two years working to identify children appearing in the recovered files. Investigators interviewed each identified child as well as their guardians as they worked to establish what had happened and determine the scope of the alleged offending.

The defendant had already been convicted in 2023 of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and sentenced to three years in prison. That earlier case involved a 14-year-old pupil he knew through his work as a substitute teacher.

Material discovered during that investigation ultimately led police to the much larger case now before Pirkanmaa District Court. With hundreds of potential victims still unidentified and dozens of hearing days scheduled, the trial is expected to remain before the court for months before a judgment is delivered in 2027.

www.projectrescuechildren.org

Flashback to 2024— Eight minors rescued and two traffickers apprehended.

Following intelligence received by Project Rescue Children, PRC worked alongside the National Bureau of Investigation Philippines on a joint investigation.

For more than a week, surveillance was conducted on the targets. The evidence exposed the horrific reality: underage girls were being sold for sexual exploitation for as little as US$30.

Due to the risks involved, the rescue operation had to be executed swiftly and professionally. With armed NBI agents leading the operation, eight children were safely rescued and two suspected traffickers were apprehended.

As per Philippine law the rescued girls were placed under the protection of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, where they received the necessary care and support. PRC funded their medical expenses, food and other immediate needs.

This operation was made possible by our donors. Their support helped turn intelligence into surveillance, surveillance into evidence, and evidence into action.

We remain grateful to the NBI and DSWD for their professionalism and commitment to protecting children.

Minors removed from exploitation. Two suspected traffickers apprehended. A powerful reminder of what collaboration and public support can achieve.

www.projectrescuechildren.org

A grim reminder that children can disappear within seconds. I pray Brock and Noah are found quickly and returned safely to their families.

As a father of four, and through witnessing the devastation caused when children go missing or are abducted around the world, I urge every parent and family to stay vigilant. Familiar places are not automatically safe, and a moment of distraction can be enough.

Teach your children what to do if you become separated, agree on a meeting point and consider a GPS tracker as an additional layer of protection.

If a child goes missing, report it immediately. Get it on local social media community pages immediately. There is no 24-hour waiting period.

We only get one chance to protect our children.

Two boys missing within days.

🇬🇧 Searches are continuing for a missing three-year-old boy who was last seen at a playground in a Suffolk village.

Noah Woods was with a relative at the small park at Merriam Close in Brantham, but "became separated" from them as they left at about 15:00 BST on Tuesday, Suffolk Police said.

The toddler, who is partially deaf and non-verbal, was reported to have run down a nearby alleyway towards a newbuild housing estate. Police described Noah as white, with curly ginger hair, and said he would not respond to his name being called. He was wearing a white Bluey T-shirt, shorts and black Vans trainers with a white stripe.

🇦🇺 Police are appealing for public assistance to locate a boy last seen in Sydney’s west.

Brock Hampshire, aged 9, was last seen at North St Marys about 1:30pm on Saturday (12 September 2026).

When he could not be located or contacted, officers attached to Nepean Police Area Command were notified at 4pm yesterday (Monday 14 September 2026) and commenced inquiries into his whereabouts.

Police and his family hold concern for Brock’s welfare due to his age. Brock is described as being of Caucasian appearance, 150cm tall, thin build with brown hair in a mullet and rat tail style.

He was last seen wearing grey pants, a “Penrith Panthers” jersey, a black “Nike” jumper and white “Nike Jordan” high-top shoes. Brock is known to frequent the St Marys, Penrith and Mount Druitt areas.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is urged to contact St Marys Police Station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

www.adamwhittington.com