Each year, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention recognizes individuals, organizations, and agencies for their extraordinary efforts to find missing children, protect children from harm, and bring perpetrators to justice.
The emotional toll of a missing child reverberates throughout our communities, impacting parents, caregivers and families—truly, all of us,” said OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan. “Today, we pause to recognize individuals who have made a difference; their work brings healing and reminds us that there is more work to be done to bring every child home.
OJJDP Administrator's Special Commendation
OJJDP Administrator's Special Commendation: This award recognizes the efforts of an Internet Crimes Against Children or ICAC Task Force, ICAC member, State Missing Children’s Clearinghouse Manager, or AMBER Alert Coordinator.
This year’s award goes to Special Agent Aisha Rahman from the Homeland Security Investigations, and Detective Malory Wildove from Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, both of West Palm Beach, FL.
They are being awarded the OJJDP Administrator's Special Commendation for their exhaustive pursuit of individuals involved in an online social networking application distributing child sexual exploitation material to hundreds of people.
Special Agent Rahman was the lead federal agent on Operation Grimm Tale. Special Agent Rahman worked for nearly a year, painstakingly reviewing hundreds of hours of chat room recordings, and issuing 70 subpoenas for hundreds of usernames, IP addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and online accounts.
Detective and Task Force Officer Wildove was the lead undercover agent on Operation Grimm Tale. Detective Wildove remained in the chatroom in an undercover capacity for more than 3 weeks, communicating with child pornographers at all hours of the day.
Each worked with their teams to identify individuals' real persona and charged the group with conspiracy to distribute child pornography. They identified the five worst U.S.‐based perpetrators and executed search warrant that yielded child exploitation material at four of the five locations searched.
The investigation led to the arrest of five defendants, all of whom were indicted and sentenced to between 13 to 30 years in prison.
Poster Winner
Artwork was submitted by fifth graders from schools and organizations from around the country for the 41st annual National Missing Children's Day poster contest. Participating students created posters using the theme "Bringing Our Missing Children Home."
The contest creates an opportunity for schools, law enforcement and child advocates to engage in discussions about child safety with youth and their parents.
Hanna L., of Chesnee, SC, is the winner for the 2024 National Missing Children's Day poster contest.
"Every year, the remarkable talent and insight of these children bring awareness and hope to the efforts of all involved in reuniting missing children with their families," said Administrator Ryan. "Miss Lapina's artwork adeptly captures the notion that the puzzle is not complete until the missing piece—the child—is back home."
Hanna L. described her picture and how it encompasses the theme of bringing missing children home. This winning poster is the inspiration for the National Missing Children's Day poster and artwork for the following year.
"I painted a picture of the world as a puzzle. The picture shows a park with a playground and a mom walking along the path. However, there is a missing piece in the puzzle – her missing child. Also, there is a hand – the hand to correct this picture by helping to return the child to where he belongs. My picture symbolized how the world is not complete until missing children return home. Those who help bring them back change the whole picture completely."
—Hanna L.