Child Victim, Top DOJ Officials to Testify At Hearing on Internet Pornography, Exploitation WASHINGTON – Next week the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold the third in its series of hearings entitled, “Sexual Exploitation of Children Over the Internet: What Parents, Kids and Congress Need to Know About Child Predators.”  The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, May 3 at 2 p.m. in 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building . Witnesses will include a victim of online sexual exploitation and senior Justice Department officials responsible for combating what experts say is a billion-dollar industry growing in its scope and its brutality. “The sexual exploitation and abuse of children over the Internet has reached a crisis point,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.  “I look forward to hearing a full update from the Department of Justice on its efforts to deal with this trade in misery. We’re not going to stop until the job is done.” At the committee’s April 4 hearing, lawmakers heard the riveting testimony of Justin Berry, a teenage honor student and class president turned assault victim.  Beginning at 13, he was repeatedly sexually exploited over the Internet by a variety of men across the United States during the course of several years. “My mom used all the latest child protective software,” Justin recalled.  “She checked what was happening in my room. She occasionally took away my computer keyboard.  But she was no match for the child predators, who worked hard to make sure my child porn shows continued.  In my personal opinion, the law enforcement effort is no match for them either. “My experience is not as isolated as you might hope,” he said.  “This is not the story of a few bad kids whose parents paid no attention. There are hundreds of kids in the United States alone who are right now wrapped up in this horror. Justin concluded with a rebuke of the Justice Department: “I have never been asked by law enforcement about any of the 1,500 names I provided them. Some of those who molested me … and who made all of this possible are continuing to live their lives, unaware or uncaring about any government inquiry.” Two days after Justin’s appearance, federal and local law enforcement told the subcommittee that, despite larger budgets and more officers, their efforts are often overwhelmed by the sheer volume of offenders and by uncooperative Internet service providers. The witness list for Wednesday’s hearing has not yet been finalized. ####