Children's Advocacy Project

Have you had time to read though our s*xtortion blog post yet?

In this blog we talk about what s*xtortion is, how to recognize s*xtortion, and how to respond to s*xtortion attacks. So if any of these topics surrounding s*xtortion are foreign to you, you might want to check it out!

Don't wait to talk to your teen or child about internet safety!

What is Sextortion: How to Recognize and Respond to Attacks Sextortion is a form of blackmail where someone threatens to distribute private, often s*xually explicit, images or videos of a person.

‼️ New blog post alert ‼️

Do you know what s*xtortion is? If you answered no, you might want to check out our new blog post "What is Sextortion: How to Recognize and Respond to Attacks."

If you have a child or a teen on the internet, you may want to educate yourself and then your family about some of the dangers that lurk online, including s*xtortion.

Learn more https://www.childrensadvocacyproject.org/blog/90-s*xtortion

📚✏️Back to school! 🍎

As you document your child's First Day of School with those memorable signs, be sure to prioritize safety.

Information like the student's school and teacher's name, age and grade, and full name can be used by predators and scammers, regardless of your privacy settings. Think about the background of the photo and the type of information it could give away to predators.

Consider taking two versions of the picture instead, one for your trusted circle and the other for your social media post. Let's create joyful memories while keeping our kiddos safe!

Two cases investigated by the Wyoming DCI Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force were recently adjudicated in United States District Court. Sentencing details are below:

Sexual exploitation of a child-
On August 9, 2024, Timothy Wales, 43, of Casper, was sentenced in United States District Court by the Honorable Judge Scott Skavdahl to 360 months (30 years) in Federal prison for s*xual exploitation of a child.

Case Background: On January 3, 2024, two ICAC agents from the DCI Casper office received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Instagram reported to NCMEC that a user in Casper had child s*xual assault material (CSAM) on the social media platform. Agents were able to determine that the information in the cyber tip matched Timothy Wales, a registered s*x offender. Wales was arrested by ICAC Agents on January 16, 2024, and charged with two counts of possession of child po*******hy and two counts of manufacturing, distributing or possessing with intent to distribute child po*******hy. Wales was indicted by a United States District Court Grand Jury in March 2024 and has remained in custody since.
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Child Sexual Assault Material-
On August 20, 2024, Kevin Snyder, 36, of Casper, was sentenced in United States District Court by the Honorable Judge Scott Skavdahl to 120 months (10 years) in Federal prison for possession of child po*******hy with a life term of supervised release.

Case Background: On January 22, 2024, the ICAC Task Force in Casper was contacted by staff members at the Casper Re-Entry Center about an inmate who they believed was accessing child po*******hy on his phone. The inmate was identified as Kevin Snyder, a registered s*x offender. The investigation concluded that Snyder downloaded approximately 2,600 files of CSAM involving lewd and lascivious acts, sadomasochism, and be******ty. Snyder was indicted in a grand jury in United States District Court in March 2024 and has remained in custody since. Snyder was serving a 210 month sentence in the custody of the United States Bureau of Prisons for original charges of production and possession of child po*******hy at the time the new information was relayed to the ICAC Task Force in January 2024. Snyder was transferred to the Casper CRC on January 3, 2024.
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Additional Information-
The Natrona County Sheriff’s Office partners with Wyoming DCI to provide manpower to the ICAC Task Force. The WY ICAC Task Force receives hundreds of cyber tips each year with Wyoming Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. The ICAC unit works cyber tip cases daily to uncover criminals preying on and exploiting children.

You are loved. 💛
You are capable. 🦄
You are resilient. 🌱

90% of perpetrators are family members, trusted care givers, or someone the child knows. Children associate these people as protectors, authority figures - respected and loved by them and other people they trust.

Sexual abuse is not often committed as an ‘attack’ but a hug, tickle game, or close relationship that becomes inappropriate - it may be so subtle or happen so early the child may not even know it’s wrong.

Let's give our children the age appropriate information they need to understand inappropriate touching, inappropriate relationships, and inappropriate secrets.

Visit https://www.childrensadvocacyproject.org/resources/protecting-children-from-s*xual-abuse to learn more.

Have you checked out the Children's Advocacy Project blog recently?

We cover topics from back-to-school body safety, human trafficking, secret vs. surprise, to stories that come through our doors.

Let us know if there is a topic you would like to see and learn more at

Child Advocacy Project News Latest News and Information from the The Children’s Advocacy Project. We serve 4,000 children since opening in 2002 and today continues to help 300 children a year on average.

Enjoy the space between where you are - - - 💛 - - - and where you are going.
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This month, our Director of Rapid Response & Forensic Interviewer, Hollie Reinhart conducted her 1800th forensic interview!

Yes, you heard that right! Hollie has been conducting forensic interviews for 9 YEARS, averaging 200 INTERVIEWS PER YEAR.

To honor the 1,800 kids she has worked with, Hollie painted a rock to add to our campus garden. Congratulations, Hollie, on this major milestone!

"Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them."
💚🌞🪻
-Lady Bird Johnson

August is flying by and we are getting in the back-to-school swing!
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While you are crossing off your back-to-school checklist, be sure to add reading our back-to-school safety blog post!

Make sure your child has all their back-to-school essentials, including the tools they need to understand body safety.

Learn more at https://www.childrensadvocacyproject.org/blog/68-back-to-school-safety

Happy first day of August!
😎☀️🌻
We hope you are enjoying the sunshine and warm days before school starts up again!

Careful listening helps kids feel heard. Show that you understand their feelings through language that communicates empathy and understanding.⁠
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bit.ly/Language-Validating-Feelings

We literally cannot say thank you enough. Thank you for supporting us during WyoGives Day, thank you for joining our annual fundraisers, and thank you for supporting us every other day of the year.

There are 273 hands here to represent the 273 children who completed a forensic interview at the Children's Advocacy Project last year. Each hand is a life of a child that has been changed by maltreatment or abuse, but also represents a child was able to come through our doors at no cost and begin the process of healing with us.

Your continued support helps to make our work to provide comprehensive services to child victims of abuse throughout Natrona County and Wyoming possible.

Thank you for joining the Children's Advocacy Project and the many, many other non-profit organizations throughout the state of Wyoming for WyoGives Day!

Did you know that when we give to organizations that help strengthen families, you are also supporting child abuse prevention? So whether your made a WyoGives Day donation to the Children's Advocacy Project, Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls Club, or the Food Bank of Wyoming, child abuse prevention in Wyoming has also benefited!

Thank you for your support of the Children's Advocacy Project! A gift to CAP is an investment in the lives of the children we serve.

We hope to see you for WyoGives Day 2025!

Thanks to all of you who have donated! We so appreciate your support!
We still have time if you didn’t get a chance in your busy day and would like to support CAP.

Today is WyoGives Day!

Join the Children's Advocacy Project today for this statewide, 24-hour online fundraising event that is designed to bring the state together as one community to raise money and awareness for Wyoming’s nonprofits at WyoGives.org.

A gift to the Children’s Advocacy Project (CAP) is an investment in the lives of the children we serve. All the services provided at CAP are at no cost to children or their families. Your donations make the work that we do at CAP possible.

Donate today at https://www.wyogives.org/organizations/children-s-advocacy-project-inc

Today is WyoGives Day!

Join the Children's Advocacy Project today for this statewide, 24-hour online fundraising event that is designed to bring the state together as one community to raise money and awareness for Wyoming’s nonprofits at WyoGives.org.

A gift to the Children’s Advocacy Project (CAP) is an investment in the lives of the children we serve. All the services provided at CAP are at no cost to children or their families. Your donations make the work that we do at CAP possible.

Donate today at https://www.wyogives.org/organizations/children-s-advocacy-project-inc

There are so many amazing non-profit organizations across the state of Wyoming participating in Wyo Gives day!

380 organizations working to make our state better, by providing services, resources, and so much more!

The Children's Advocacy Project is just one of these 380 nonprofit organizations participating. A gift to the Children’s Advocacy Project is an investment in the lives of the children we serve. All the services we provide are at no cost to children or their families. Your donations make the work that we do at CAP possible.

Join us on July 10 in raising awareness and money for the many organizations in our state. A small amount can make a big difference!

Learn more at https://www.wyogives.org/organizations/children-s-advocacy-project-inc

Wyo Gives Day is just a few days away!

Do you know which Wyoming non-profits organizations you are going to support this year?

Just a little bit goes a long way when we all give together on July 10!

On this day of giving, all donations made to the Children's Advocacy Project go to helping us to continue to provide comprehensive services for child victims of abuse in Natrona County and across the state.

Learn more at https://www.wyogives.org/organizations/children-s-advocacy-project-inc

Happy Fourth of July from the Children's Advocacy Project! We hope your celebrations are full of family, fireworks, and fun!

The month of July is "Make a Difference to Children" Month!

The month raises awareness about the vulnerability any child in the world can face if they do not have the right person in their lives to guide them. If you are a parent or caregiver, making a difference can be as simple as playing, reading and spending time with your child.

Just 10 days until WyoGives day!

WyoGives and Wyoming Statehood are on the same day this year! Celebrate Wyoming's birthday by giving back to nonprofits in Wyoming.

Check out the Wyo Gives website to learn how you can join Wyoming and the many nonprofits in our state and give on July 10 at https://www.wyogives.org/

If you know of anyone. ✏️

Be Kind. Be kind to yourself. Be kind to your mind. Be kind to others.
💜

We've made it to the end of June, which means summer is in full swing! For many, summer safety means applying bug spray, properly wearing sunscreen, staying safe around water, and proper hydration.

But did you know that during the summer, children are at higher risk for being groomed by online predators due to kids' additional free time and more access to the internet?

Summer is a good time to talk to your children about online safety!

Here are a couple of topics to keep in mind or share with your children who might be using the internet this summer:
🤝 Only “friend” and connect to people online that you know personally and delete those you don’t know
🔓Set social media security settings so that only confirmed friends and connections can see what you are posting
📸 Never take a picture of yourself or post anything by text, e-mail, or social media that you would not want everyone in the world to see
🚫 Never forward an inappropriate image or message & always notify an adult
📱 Never give anyone your phone number, e-mail address, or home address
🗣 Be aware that anyone you meet online may not be who they say they are

Did you know that the Children's Advocacy Project has a blog?!

We cover topics like: secret vs. surprise, body safety, human trafficking, grooming and more.

Check out our blog posts and let us know if you have any topics you would like to see next?

https://www.childrensadvocacyproject.org/blog

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Play is the highest form of research.

― Albert Einstein