Springfield, MA – May 2026
When parents think about keeping their children safe, they often think about who their kids are with and where they’re going. But today, some of the most serious threats to children are already inside your home, on the Xbox in the bedroom, the phone on the nightstand, and the laptop open on the kitchen table. A child sexual exploitation attorney in Massachusetts can tell you that cases like these are no longer rare. Online child sexual exploitation is growing faster than law enforcement’s capacity. Unfortunately, the people doing it aren't always strangers. Sometimes they are teachers, coaches, and trusted community members living ordinary lives.
The Numbers Are Staggering
In 2025, Massachusetts State Police received more than 23,000 CyberTipline reports about child exploitation, which represented a 77% increase over 2024. Investigators describe what they are seeing as a "tidal wave." The backlog of cases is growing so fast that prosecutors have started hiring retired police officers just to keep up. Agents are being forced to triage, focusing on only the worst offenders because there simply aren't enough resources available.
Experts believe those 23,000 reports still vastly undercount what is actually happening, because encrypted messaging apps make it impossible to see the full volume of abuse taking place online.
Who Is Doing This
This is not a profile that fits a simple stereotype. Massachusetts State Police Deputy Superintendent Dan Tucker has said that investigators have issued warrants for pediatricians, EMTs, teachers, and lawyers. The person exploiting children online is often someone with a clean record, a normal job, and a trusted place in the community.
A recent case out of Brookline illustrates exactly how these individuals gain access to children online. John Magee Gavin was a science teacher at Boston's Josiah Quincy Upper School. He also coached, tutored, and worked as a camp counselor. While teaching teenagers in a classroom, he was simultaneously messaging minors across the country on Discord, sending sexually explicit messages to approximately 20 children between the ages of 12 and 17. In some instances, he sent those messages while sitting in class. Gavin pleaded guilty to federal charges and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
He was caught because a father in Tennessee discovered what was happening on his 13-year-old daughter's Xbox and called the police.
Where Predators Find Children
Offenders are not lurking in shadowy corners of the internet that children stumble into by accident. They are on the platforms children use every day: Roblox, which has 97 million monthly users, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, and gaming chat apps like Discord. They build trust slowly, move conversations to encrypted platforms where messages can't be tracked, and use that privacy to escalate contact.
Artificial intelligence is making the problem worse. AI tools can generate realistic images of child abuse from a single photo pulled off a social media profile. Massachusetts is one of just five states with no law making it illegal to use AI to create such images.
What Massachusetts Law Says and Where It Falls Short
Massachusetts has fallen behind national standards on child online safety. There is currently no state law criminalizing AI-generated child sexual abuse material. Investigators and advocates have been pushing for legislative reform, and a state audit of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education was launched after years of reporting on how school districts handle allegations of teacher misconduct.
At the federal level, tech companies have largely been shielded from liability under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects platforms from being held responsible for content posted by third parties. Efforts to reform that law as it relates to child exploitation have stalled repeatedly in Congress.
What that means for families is the legal and legislative systems have not caught up to the scale of this problem, but civil courts remain a viable option to pursue damages.
Signs Your Child May Have Been Targeted
If you are concerned about your child's online activity, watch for sudden secrecy around devices, unexplained gifts or money, withdrawal from family and friends, changes in mood or behavior, or references to online relationships with people you don't know. Children often don't disclose what is happening because they feel ashamed, scared, or protective of the person who groomed them.
What a Child Sexual Exploitation Attorney in Massachusetts Can Do For Your Family
If your child has been targeted, groomed, or exploited online, whether by a stranger, a teacher, a coach, or anyone else, you may have legal options beyond waiting for a criminal case to move forward. A child sexual exploitation attorney in Massachusetts can help you pursue a civil lawsuit that holds not only the individual abuser accountable, but also the institutions and platforms that failed to protect your child.
Criminal prosecutions focus on punishing the offender. Civil cases focus on your family. On getting answers, on accountability, and on recovery. You do not need to wait for a criminal conviction to pursue a civil claim.
Talk to a Child Sexual Exploitation Attorney in Massachusetts Today
Alekman DiTusa is a Springfield-based personal injury and sexual abuse law firm serving clients throughout Massachusetts, including Worcester County and the Greater Boston area. We represent survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation in civil actions against abusers, schools, institutions, and any other party whose negligence allowed the harm to occur.
If your child has been exploited online or if you suspect they may have been targeted and you aren't sure what to do next, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation. There is no cost to speak with us, and no fee unless we recover for you.
📞 (413) 781-0000 🌐 Free Consultation -- Contact Alekman DiTusa
Learn more about our Sexual Assault & Abuse practice and our work on behalf of child injury victims throughout Massachusetts.