Fort Garry Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
May 15-17, 2012
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! SPACES ARE LIMITED!
Register today for the Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s 12th Annual Missing and Exploited Children Conference.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD REGISTRATION FORM
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc. is excited to host our 12th annual Missing and Exploited Children Conference (MECC), which will take place from May 15-17, 2012 at Winnipeg's Fort Garry Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre. The goal of this three-day training conference, which is attended by law enforcement members, social workers, educators, prosecutors, counsellors, lawyers and medical professionals, is to broaden the knowledge of those involved in child protection surrounding the issues of missing and exploited children.
One of the leading conferences of this type in Canada, the MECC provides training by expert speakers from around the world on a wide range of issues including the detection and investigation of child victimization, how to deal with children in trauma, and Internet-related exploitation as well as offering a unique glimpse of the victim's perspective. With the rapid growth in online crimes against children, the training needs of professionals working in the area of child protection have changed immensely, making this conference important to those working in the field. As training opportunities of this caliber are few and far between, particularly in Canada, this conference has grown each year, attracting participants from each province who work with exploited children and/or aim to prevent child victimization.
This is a must-attend conference for law enforcement members, social workers, educators, prosecutors, counsellors, lawyers and medical professionals. This year's conference will feature a well-rounded, engaging group of speakers.
2012 Conference Highlights include:
Victim Impact
Presented by: Colleen Nick, Executive Director of the Morgan Nick Foundation
On June 9, 1995, Colleen’s 6 year old daughter Morgan was kidnapped from a little league baseball game. Finding Morgan became the top priority for Colleen and her family. Without hesitation, she closed her private business and began the fight to bring Morgan and other missing children home.
Colleen formed the Morgan Nick Foundation in 1996 and serves as a full time Executive Director. Through Colleen’s outstanding leadership, the foundation assists thousands of families in crisis, successfully providing intervention, support, and reunification to children and their families. The foundation is also extremely proactive with prevention education programs for children, communities, and schools. Colleen was instrumental in the adoption of AMBER Alert in Arkansas, known as the Morgan Nick AMBER Alert, making Arkansas the third state in the nation to have a statewide alert system in place.
Colleen is a nationally recognized spokesperson and advocate for missing children. She has spoken at Quantico (FBI National Training Base), the National Homicide Investigators Symposium, and at National Missing Children’s Day with Attorney General Janet Reno. Colleen was invited to meet with President and Mrs. Bush at the White House Conference on Missing and Exploited Children in 2002 to explore new resources in the ongoing fight for missing children. Colleen serves as an independent consultant with Fox Valley Technical College, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. She travels the nation training law enforcement about the issue of missing and exploited children.
Colleen was a co-creator of Team H.O.P.E. and now serves as a Senior Team Coordinator, supervising numerous volunteers, and providing immediate and ongoing support to families in a 12 states area. In addition, she serves on the Board of Directors for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Arkansas Crime Victims Reparations Board, as well as the past Vice President for AMECO (Association of Missing and Exploited Children’s Organizations).
Quality Prevention and Intervention Approaches with Aboriginal Youth at High Risk for Exploitation
Presented by Dr. Mark Totten
Dr. Mark Totten works with groups across Canada and in other countries on evidence-based practices in the areas of gangs, sexual exploitation and trafficking, crime prevention, mental health, child maltreatment and family violence, bullying and harassment, corrections and policing, and gender identity. Along with his partner Sharon Dunn, he is President of Totten and Associates, a consulting company with the mission of “doing social justice science that makes a real difference in the lives of complex need people and their communities”. He is currently collaborating with groups in Ontario and Western Canada in the development and evaluation of multi-year gang prevention, intervention and suppression strategies. He is also involved in long-term projects with First Nations groups in remote northern communities focused on ending cycles of violence. Mark is past Director of Research at the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa (1987-2007) and has worked with high-risk children, youth, adults and families for over thirty years. His career started in 1980 coordinating recreation programs in Ottawa social housing communities, continuing on with work in Kingston Penitentiary and the child welfare and youth justice fields, up until today where his work focuses on issues related to violence against women, crime prevention, gangs, sexual exploitation and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. He has a Master of Social Work and a Ph.D. in Sociology. He is a well-known expert witness for both Crown and Defence Counsel on gangs and criminal subculture. He is also a certified social worker. He has authored over 60 books, academic articles and government reports, including Guys, Gangs and Girlfriend Abuse (2000), When Children Kill: A Social- Psychological Study on Youth Homicide (2002), and Promising Practices for Addressing Youth Involvement in Gangs (2008). His latest book, Nasty, Brutish and Short: The Lives of Gang Members in Canada, will be published in March 2012. He is a frequent media commentator and keynote speaker at provincial, national and international conferences.
Interviewing the Child Victim
Presented by: Catherine S. Connell LMSW, ACSW
Catherine Connell is a state licensed Clinical Social Worker. Ms Connell received her Bachelors of Social Work at Michigan State University. She received her Masters of Social Work, at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. Ms Connell is currently employed with the FBI as a Child/Adolescent Forensic Interviewer with the Office of Victim Assistance. She provides interviews, consultation and training for FBI Agents, Assistant United States Attorney’s, and other federal and state law enforcement. Prior to the Bureau Ms Connell was the Director of Intervention and Treatment, at CARE House, a Child Advocacy Center in Pontiac, Michigan. She was responsible for the collaboration of the multidisciplinary team, conducting and supervising forensic interviews, and the coordination of follow-up services for child victims and their families. Prior to this, she was the Forensic Interviewer for 7 years, in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. Ms Connell has conducted approximately 4000 interviews. Ms Connell was on the Executive committee for MACE, a multi-jurisdictional task force for Internet crimes. She developed an Internet Safety program for professionals and the community to educate regarding dangers children encounter on the Internet. Ms Connell has been qualified as an expert witness on multiple subjects in civil and criminal cases, in Federal and local jurisdictions. Ms Connell recently coauthored and published an article on interviewing Compliant Victims.
Ms. Connell’s presentation will focus on the dynamics of compliant victims and how these dynamics effect victimization and the interview process. This presenter will also discuss the presentation of evidence in the forensic interview.
The Great Unraveling: A Mother and Father Led Child Pornography Production Ring
Presented by: Josh Findley (Special Agent with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and Jim Mooney (Special Agent and Computer Forensic Agent with the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations)
This case study examines what investigators initially thought was a "routine" child pornography search warrant and turned out to be anything but that. Before the investigation was complete, agents arrested four custodial parents from three separate families, identified five minor victims, including a bedridden, handicapped child, and disabled an Internet-based child pornography trading ring. The presenters will examine the issues encountered with the suspects who were a "typical" middle-class, suburban married couple engaged in the production of child sexual abuse images. This case study highlights the challenges of the investigation when both spouses are the abusers, tracing images back to their origin and the pitfalls associated with the prosecution of all of the individuals involved. (For more info, see this link: Marceau and Ford Case)
Josh Findley
Josh Findley has been a Special Agent with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the past seven years. While with ICE he has specialized in the investigation of child sexual exploitation crimes. SA Findley has a wide array of law enforcement experience to include serving as a SA for the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) and the Department of Treasury Office of Inspector General.
Jim Mooney
Jim Mooney is a Special Agent and Computer Forensic Agent with the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations in Portland, Oregon. He has been assigned to a child sexual exploitation unit for the past eight years. His focus is in the areas of computer forensics, Internet based child exploitation and proactive undercover internet investigations. Jim holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biochemistry from Lewis & Clark College and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oregon School of Law.
Interdiction for the Protection of Children
Presented by: Cody Mitchell (Sergeant, Texas Rangers) and Derek Prestridge (Sergeant, Texas Department of Public Safety)
This workshop will educate law enforcement officers in the skill of using interdiction techniques while conducting traffic stops to identify abducted and exploited children or suspects that may be a high risk threat to children. Conference attendees will gain an awareness of resources, the need for training, and interdiction techniques that will allow them to make a confident decision to begin an investigation or begin collecting information. Lastly, the presenters will share actual examples of cases involving runaways, child pornography and human trafficking that were discovered using these interdiction techniques.
Cody Mitchell
Texas Ranger Cody Mitchell has been a Texas Peace Officer for approximately eleven years. He has served in many capacities as a peace officer to include patrol, investigations, and as a criminal interdiction officer. Ranger Mitchell has served the past six years with the Texas Department of Public Safety and has been assigned to duty stations in Orange, Chambers County, Baytown, and Austin. Ranger Mitchell is currently assigned to the Texas Ranger Division and is responsible for major investigations in the central counties of Texas. During his service with the Texas Department of Public Safety, Ranger Mitchell has worked closely with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit-3 and Texas Attorney General’s Office to develop and implement the Interdiction for the Protection of Children (IPC) program.
Derek Prestridge
Sergeant Derek Prestridge has served with the Texas Department of Public Safety for 15 years. He is currently assigned to the Department's Education Training and Research. There, he has worked closely with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit-3; and the Texas Attorney General's Office to develop and implement the Interdiction for the Protection of Children (IPC) program. Sergeant Prestridge has been recognized for his efforts in various forms of interdiction and has most recently been recognized by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Texas Regional Office as a recipient of the Texas Children's HERO Award in 2010.
Analyzing and Assessing the Child Sex Offender
Presented by Dr. Jim Tanner
Dr. Tanner has been a justice system professional since 1970. He obtained his Ph.D. in Cognitive Social Psychology from the University of Illinois, specializing in Phenomenology and Criminology. He is an internationally recognized expert in cognitive sets and sex offender management. He trains thousands of federal, state, and local professionals each year in a wide variety of topics. He is sworn staff in Colorado and serves as the computer forensic examiner for the 20th Judicial District Probation Department. He was a pioneer in managing sex offender computer use and has examined more than 1,400 sex offenders' computers. Dr. Tanner was responsible for the creation of Field Search, a free forensic software application in use internationally. He was the primary author of the Structured Sex Offender Treatment Review (SSOTR) in use nationally to monitor sex offenders’ behavior.
MORE SPEAKER BIOS AND TOPICS COMING SOON! Please stay tuned for more information!
