How Thorn Detect transforms child victim identification.

The lives and futures of so many children are at stake in child sexual abuse investigations in our communities. 

While victims are in active harm’s way, investigators are faced with the overwhelming task of sorting through massive content libraries on seized devices. They are looking for child sexual abuse material. This horrific abuse content can contain important clues that can lead to identification of child victims or arrests of perpetrators. 

Time is everything—and having technology that can detect and speed up the review of suspected abuse images and videos can be the difference between a victim lingering in abuse or finding safety. 

Detective Michael Fontenot understands this urgency intimately. In his years investigating child sexual abuse cases, he’s experienced how the right tools can change the trajectory of a child’s life.

This is the reality that our latest victim identification tool, Thorn Detect, is designed to address: transforming the race against time that defines many child sexual abuse cases.

The challenge: reducing the time it takes to finding children in active abuse situations

Detective Fontenot remembers the exact moment everything changed. “We executed a search warrant and recovered a cellphone, and it had over 200,000 media files on it,” he explains. “This is where Thorn changed everything. Their solution, Thorn Detect, makes it so we don’t have to go through those 200,000 files on that phone. It knocked it down to 8,000.”

That’s not just a reduction in files, it’s a fundamental shift in how child victim identification works. Instead of investigators spending weeks or months in manual review while children remain in dangerous situations, they can now focus immediately on the content most likely to lead to victim identification.

For Detective Fontenot and his team, this transformation means the difference between being overwhelmed by the scope of digital files and being able to act swiftly on behalf of children who need help.

The evolution of innovation in child protection

Thorn’s journey to solve this critical timing problem began more than five years ago with our CSAM classifiers, which use machine learning classification models to help identify suspected sexual abuse content. 

Collaborative partnerships within the child protection community are essential to the ongoing development of this technology. Thorn’s machine learning image and video classification modes were trained in part using trusted data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline. This verified data helps Thorn Detect predict the likelihood that image and video content contains child sexual abuse material (CSAM). 

In 2023, we began beta testing this breakthrough technology with investigators directly within their forensic analysis tools to help speed up their investigative process and focus on the content that will move a case forward.

Today, we are excited to announce Thorn Detect, our newest digital forensic solution. Thorn Detect is a direct result of our beta testing, and helps investigators quickly detect suspected child sexual abuse material, and can speed up how quickly children can be identified and removed from harm. It’s now available to be integrated into law enforcement tools to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation. 

Machine learning meets child victim identification

Thorn Detect’s machine learning classification models serve one primary purpose: quickly detecting suspected child sexual abuse content. This helps investigators prioritize the most critical files, ultimately accelerating the process of identifying children in danger.

“Here I am, dealing with over 34,000 cases,” Detective Fontenot notes. “If it wasn’t for Thorn and the technology that they provide, my team and I would be drowning in these horrible and horrific cases.”

But the benefits extend beyond speed. By reducing investigators’ exposure to traumatic content, Thorn Detect helps prevent the burnout that can force experienced investigators out of child protection work. This means more skilled professionals remain available to serve children for longer, creating a sustainable workforce dedicated to victim identification.

Proven impact at a global scale

The ability to find and flag suspected CSAM is becoming essential to our tools, to proactively identify intelligence and reduce investigator burnout.

Thorn Detect provides us with a best-in-class capability in this area. We’re big believers in partnering with organisations with aligned missions and innovative technology, and this is the perfect example of that.

        Dave Ranner, Commercial Director, CameraForensics

The numbers tell a powerful story of children reached and rescued. Thorn Detect is now used by approximately 900 law enforcement agencies spanning 39 countries, representing rapid global adoption.

For Detective Fontenot and investigators worldwide, these statistics represent something profoundly personal: real children who have been brought to safety, potentially saving them from ongoing abuse and trauma.

“The impact of Thorn’s technology isn’t just about efficiency for investigators,” he says. “It’s about children’s lives. Thorn Detect gives us back time to work more cases. Time to find more victims. Time to stop the abuse sooner.”

Innovation powered by partnership

Thorn Detect represents the direct impact of philanthropic investment in child protection technology. When donors invest in Thorn, they’re funding technical innovation that leads to tools enabling faster victim identification and making an immediate difference for children in harm’s way.

Centering our technology development on victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation ensures that every advancement serves one overarching mission: transforming the way children are protected in the digital age. The faster investigators can identify suspected abuse content, the faster they can focus on locating victims and removing them from harm.

The evolution from our early CSAM Classifier deployments for investigators to today’s Thorn Detect solution demonstrates how sustained investment in child protection technology creates a lasting impact. With each advancement, we are accelerating the speed of hope for child victims.

Resources

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