Blockchain, Breadcrumbs, and Bravery: The New Frontlines of Child Rescue

As a retired 2nd Grade Detective from the NYPD, I’ve seen firsthand the dark realities of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and trafficking. My career—spanning over 200 CSAM and trafficking investigations and working alongside some of the best detectives and special agents in the world—has taught me that fighting this type of crime requires a unique blend of street smarts, technical know-how, and relentless determination.

Today, the battleground has shifted. The dark web, cryptocurrency, and global criminal networks demand that law enforcement adapt fast and stay sharp.

When we execute a search warrant, it’s no longer just about grabbing computers and hard drives. We have to look for clues that might seem meaningless at first—like a scribbled TOR address on a piece of paper near a suspect’s laptop. That’s exactly what happened after the arrest of JS. He came to meet me for nefarious purposes, thinking I was a 14-year-old boy. That one TOR address we found near his computer, in his apartment, opened up a global trafficking ring, leading us to sites where the worst crimes imaginable are advertised in exchange for cryptocurrency.

If you don’t know what a TOR address is, or why cryptocurrency matters, you could miss a lead that saves a child’s life. These small details are crucial—they're the breadcrumbs that can unravel entire criminal networks and also show the importance of getting the right training when you're in law enforcement.

Many people think cryptocurrency is untraceable. It’s not. Every transaction leaves a mark on the blockchain—a permanent, public ledger. When I sent a small amount of cryptocurrency to a trafficker in Southeast Asia who was advertising girls aged 4 to 12 on the dark web—from that very link found during the search—I knew that transaction would eventually lead us to the person behind the screen and hopefully help us find the 10 year old victim he was trying to sell t