FORT BENNING, Ga., (Nov. 19, 2014) -- Retired Staff Sgt. J Christian joined the Army in 2006 to help protect and defend his country from the world's predators.
"It had always been a goal of mine and I felt that we needed more men and women to step up and serve the country," he said.
He is now protecting the country in a new way, as part of the second graduating class of a one-year program designed to give wounded, ill or injured veterans the chance to continue serving their country in the fight against child predators.
The Human Exploitation Rescue Operative Corps was developed in 2013 by ICE Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Defense and the National Association to Protect Children. The HEROs work with ICE HSI offices across the country, where they assist special agents with criminal investigations involving child pornography and online sexual exploitation.
"The job of rescuing children from the depths of their worst nightmares is incomparable to anything that I've ever done or thought I would do," Christian said.
Christian spent his career in the 75th Ranger Regiment, serving under the U.S. Special Operations Command. He was assigned to a rifle team within C Company, 3rd Battalion, serving as rifleman, automatic rifleman, fire team leader and eventually squad leader.
After sustaining multiple combat-related injuries in 2009, he medically retired in late 2013.
He was introduced to the HERO Corps through the U.S. Operation Care Coalition, which helps injured SOCOM members transition back to their teams in the military or the civilian sector.
"It has been challenging to step away from the military, but the great thing about this program is you're transitioning from a SOCOM unit, going out and doing things that little boys dream of, to going to a program and you're never be able to prepare for the magnitude of what we're doing," Christian said.
Harold Ort, public affairs officer for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the graduates come from all branches from the military.
"Each of them was interviewed by SOCOM and HSI, which vetted their abilities and backgrounds to ensure a good fit with the HERO Corps," he said. "I think all of these guys are a tremendous fit, and our intention with the program is to expand it to a corps of about 200 members over the next five years."
The graduates attended three weeks of intensive training at the Weiss Child Rescue and Protection Technology Center in Houston, where they learned about specialized software, hardware and investigative protocols that help law enforcement detect and interdict child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Later, they completed eight weeks of training in computer forensic analysis and digital evidence collection at HSI's Cyber Crimes Center in Fairfax, Virginia, to help identify and rescue child victims of sexual abuse and online sexual exploitation.
After training, HERO Corps participants report to HSI offices in more than a dozen cities across the U.S. They work under the direct supervision of HSI special agents, conducting computer forensic exams, assisting with criminal investigations and helping to identify and rescue child victims. Christian will be assigned to ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles.
"I'm really dedicated to honing in my skills, so the better I become in forensics, the more opportunities I have to actually make a difference in rescuing these children," Christian said. "If I can make a difference in one child's life, that would be enough to change my life. So far, with the course and what we've done, we're going to affect hundreds of people's lives."
In fiscal 2014, more than 2,300 child predators were arrested by HSI on criminal charges related to the online sexual exploitation of children, Ort said. Since 2003, HSI has initiated more than 30,000 cases and arrested more than 10,000 individuals for these types of crimes.
Christian said he hopes to spread the word to other veterans about the HERO Corps and its mission to bring child predators to justice.
"I would like to be able to continue to helping the care coalition to get the best possible men and women from special operations," he said. "We could really use these men and women that the U.S. military has already trained and have become a great commodity to this country."
For more information about the program or applying, visit www.ice.gov. The public's help is also crucial in in the mission. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
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