The detective leading the hunt against online child predators
Predator HuntersThe following guest article was written by Detective Tony Godwin, a leading authority in the fight against child exploitation. As part of the Crimes Against Children Unit and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force he commands every sting operation by luring predators out of the shadows and into the hands of justice.
Now he is raising awareness of this vital work in Predator Hunters, a new series starting Thursday, 14th May on Crime+Investigation. Each episode follows these gripping investigations, showing how Detective Godwin will stop at nothing to protect America’s children.
In this article, Tony explains how he got into this area of law enforcement, what he hopes viewers will take away from this series and why he takes so much pride in what he does.
I have spent most of my life dedicated to public service, first as a US Army Military Police Officer and later as a Criminal Investigator, before transitioning into the civilian side of law enforcement where I have been for 32 years. My career has afforded me experiences that I will never forget, including car chases, foot chases, homicides, missing children, shootings and delivering a baby on the floor of a tiny apartment. I have worked on every crime imaginable and have seen more things in a lifetime than most simply cannot fathom.
I have faithfully served on the North Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for more than 20 years now. This specific job has exposed me to the most unmentionable atrocities a human can see: the vilest things that are produced, traded, shared, uploaded, and downloaded by those predisposed to children, offending against the most vulnerable segment of our society. It is repulsive and NOTHING anyone should ever have to see or experience; a visual representation of a victim’s WORST day on the planet.
It is a vital job. I feel uniquely blessed to be able to stay in this specific area of expertise and hone this skillset for 20 years, and for the satisfaction of rescuing a child and putting an offender somewhere that hopefully never allows that child to be harmed or exploited again.
This specific job has exposed me to the most unmentionable atrocities a human can see
Detective Tony Godwin
Over the course of my career, I have worked approximately 7,000 cases, some that are very memorable in a way that have given me an exclusive look, or glimpse behind the mask. As a result of my extensive caseload, a business partner and I developed a podcast called CatFish Cops and it began to share stories of these arrests and the cases that we had amassed. The growth and expansion of the podcast was more than we imagined and we became aware of it being listened to in countries and territories many miles from Texas. We quickly realised that education and awareness could be the key to trying to change the paradigm of child exploitation.
We will NEVER arrest our way out of this crime type sadly, so that means we need to change the focus, change behaviours, change the mindset, raise awareness and educate as many people as possible to make our effort to stem the flow to a degree, and spark healthy conversation about this crime type.
Through the podcast, we became connected with Dr. Graham Hill, an internationally recognised British Criminologist and expert in relation to the behaviour of adults who sexually abuse children and men who abduct and murder children. He is a former Senior Detective and Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) who specialized in the investigation of major crime. He approached us and asked about whether we might want to take part in a documentary that highlighted our cases and the issues associated with this crime type. While we were certainly very interested in this, it was an entire process I knew nothing about.
An introduction was made to Ian Lamarra at Soho Studios Entertainment and Arron Fellows at Mindhouse Productions and life has not stopped from that initial conversation. The ebb and flow of this process has been remarkable. From a person who simply knows and understands the abhorrent behavior of offenders with this predation, and having a bit of mild success in this field over the years, I was mind blown to know this was something that would evolve and become a full series of cases and stories.
I was humbled and honoured to have been chosen for this role that allows for the highlighting of amazing and stellar work being completed by my team and I. This opportunity is rare, this I know, but with this opportunity comes the ability to reach an audience worldwide. To spark conversations, to debate the ins and outs of the legal system, to advocate for the victims of these crimes and give them a voice. To ensure there are dedicated and trained professionals willing to step up, so that another child is not harmed. It is simply bigger than me, or anyone in this field.
This career and type of investigations are the MOST important that exist. There are no short cuts, or half stepping. Doing the right thing for the right reasons without hesitation and without fear. No matter what comes to us, however big or bad they are, no matter how depraved or deplorable it is, we are bigger, we are badder than they will ever be, and I can assure the citizens of the world, that there is a mighty team of people doing this all for the chance to save one child or put one very bad person away so that child is never harmed again.
I hope the series gives viewers an understanding of the boldness of these offenders and how quickly something like this can happen to a real child, in their pursuit of children, often operating with perceived anonymity. While the topic is tough, and hard to see or watch as the cases unfold, it is important for me to send a message to the public and empower them through prevention and knowledge. This includes practical safety suggestions, learning to recognise red flags such as significant behaviour changes, monitoring a child’s online activities, and being intentional, while having safe, practical, age-appropriate conversations in a loving way so that children feel comfortable coming to a trusted adult in times of crisis so that something can be done.
To bring this to a close, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Mindhouse Productions, Soho Studios Entertainment and Crime+Investigation for broadcasting the series, and I’m thankful for the amazing experience that this has been, from its inception through the creation and landing on the final product.
I was so thrilled that Crime+Investigation are bringing the show to the UK - now my friends in Britain can see the show and, of course, the themes and messages are universal. To every crew member throughout this entire process, those I met and was able to work with, and for those behind the scenes getting this series into something palatable, I am profoundly grateful. The learning experience was amazing and something I am a better person for being a part of.
Predator Hunters starts Thursday, 14th May on Crime+Investigation.
