Sexual predator task force that nabbed Sacramento suspect set to lose funding in state budget
The law enforcement team that arrested a 24-year-old Sacramento County man suspected of using social media to lure children into committing sexual acts on camera might soon lose its funding.
“The Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children
Task Force, ICAC, has been made aware that funding for the California ICAC program has been excluded from the governor’s proposed 2022-23 budget,” said Sgt. Juan Hidalgo, commander of the Sacramento Valley Hi-tech Crimes Task Force, in a video shared on the Sacramento County Sheriff ’s Office Facebook page.
According to Hidalgo, the state funds five Internet Crimes Against Children teams across the state — in Sacramento, San Jose, Fresno, Los Angeles and San Diego.
It was the Sacramento team that investigated, and arrested, Demetrius Carl Davis and determined that there could be as many as 100 child victims across the country.
“If ICAC funding is not included in the governor’s budget, the task force teams will have to eliminate all dedicated personnel who are responsible for combating child sexual exploitation and abuse,” Hidalgo said in the video.
H.D. Palmer, of the California Department of Finance, said that funding for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force came from a one-time, limited-term appropriation of $5 million per year for three years, beginning in 2019.
“Consistent with the terms of that appropriation, the current fiscal year (FY 2021-22) represents the third and final year of that three-year, limited term appropriation,” Palmer said in an email to The Bee.
Palmer added that Gov. Gavin Newsom will release an updated budget proposal next month, dubbed the “May Revision.”
“Decisions on that revised budget have yet to be made, but will be finalized over the next several weeks,” Palmer said.
Also appearing in the video is Sacramento County Undersheriff Jim Barnes, who is running to succeed outgoing Sheriff Scott Jones, who in turn is running as a Republican for a seat in Congress.
“Without funding, our abilities and resources to combat these heinous crimes will be overwhelmed. Continued funding will allow for advanced and heightened training and tools to assist the task force and affiliate agencies throughout California to combat child predators,” Barnes said in the video. “Funding is imperative to help ICAC personnel bring these abusers to justice, and without it many children in California and throughout the world will undoubtedly suffer at the hands of some of the worst types of offenders.”
Barnes used the video to urge members of the community to contact Gov. Newsom’s office, as well as their local state lawmaker, to “tell them you believe this funding is paramount to your community’s safety.”