The number of online child exploitation cases has grown over the past few years from hundreds to thousands. Wednesday, donors handed the Children's Advocacy Center the keys to a new Internet Exploitation Investigation Van.
The van could help build a better case against potential predators.
"The child molesters and child predators have moved to the Internet," Austin Police Department Det. Roy Rector said.
According to APD, detectives have investigated more than 150 cases of child exploitation since March 2002. Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle said the protection of children is an evolving need.
"Those who exploit children keep finding new ways to do it, so we have to find new ways to stop them," Earle said.
One way is the new Internet Exploitation Investigation Van donated to the Children's Advocacy Center. The van is equipped to transport and preserve electronic evidence in child abuse cases.
"In the past, our officers were able to use a patrol car, but if anything dropped, if anything broke, if anything got compromised, then it might not be usable when the case actually went to court," Sandra Martin, with the Children's Advocacy Center, said.
With the van, investigators will be able to process computer systems as evidence right at the scene.
"It gives us the opportunity to go to a crime scene and carry up to six investigators and all our gear, process that scene, and then come back with all of that gear and all of those people and the evidence," Rector said.
The new van comes complete with a portable forensic lab and navigation system.
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Investigation van
The Internet Exploitation Van will help to process computer evidence in child abuse cases.
 
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"We can bring this van when we serve a search warrant, download the guts from that computer system, download the information that we need to make a case, and return quickly that system," APD Chief Stan Knee said.
Donations covered the cost of the $23,000 van. It will be used and maintained by the city of Austin.
The Children's Advocacy Center serves as the community representative to the Child Protection Team -- a collaboration of several city and county agencies including Travis County District Attorney's Office, APD, Travis County Sheriff's Office, Children's Hospital of Austin.
