Internet child porn task force threatened after funding is excluded from Newsom's proposed state budget

Fontana police is urging people to contact Gov. Gavin Newsom after they say funding for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, or ICAC, was found to have been excluded from the proposed 2022-23 state budget.

Fontana police say its ICAC Unit is one of the busiest in the country. The Fontana police ICAC unit has six full-time investigators and a K9 specially trained to find computer hardware, and officials say they have helped other agencies in Southern California and across the country start a similar unit.

"Last year, Fontana ICAC detectives wrote hundreds of search warrants and received over 670 cyber tips from the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)," a statement from the Fontana Police Department said. In more than 800 criminal investigations, the Fontana ICAC Unit combed through more than 1,900 electronic devices, recovering over 500,000 gigabytes of child pornography files that led to the arrests of 120 people.

"This unit has saved children by removing them from abusive homes," police said. "Without this funding, detectives would not be able to identify child predators living in our community."

Fontana police is asking people to write to Newsom and their local lawmakers to urge them to reconsider including the funding in the final budget. According to the Department of Finance, Newsom is preparing the May revision of his budget proposal, and the final budget is due on June 15.