Tim Tebow has something he wants abused children in the dark, forgotten layers of American society to have — hope that the nightmare of child sex abuse can end.
Tebow, a former NFL quarterback who was also a college star with Florida and had a stint as a minor leage baseball player, has forged a bipartisan alliance behind what has been dubbed the “Renewed Hope Act,” which was unveiled Tuesday.
“We have to build an army and equip and train them to go after and rescue these boys and girls. That’s what it’s about,” Tebow said, according to Fox News. “Everybody needs to be a part of the solution.”
“This isn’t just about policies or procedures. This is about people. This is about the next generation of boys and girls. Like, we always talk about the future, the next generation. This is a chance we really get to make an impact,” he said.
One of the key pieces of the bill is to increase the number of investigators probing the dark underbelly of the internet to identify children whose faces have appeared in videos and other child sex abuse material, but whose identities are unknown.
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In a statement on his foundation’s website, Tebow said the names of more than 50,000 children who have been seen in images of abuse are unknown.
“Until they’re identified, they have almost no chance of being rescued,” Tebow said, according to the Washington Times.
“One of the best next steps in fighting this evil is giving these kids the best chance to be rescued by building a bigger rescue team, by giving them the opportunity for experts to speak into it, by having a central coordination hub, and by having the best training and victim identification expertise around the world,” he said.
Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Republican Rep. Laurel Lee of Florida appeared with Tebow in support of the law.
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“No child should be the subject of online sexual exploitation and abuse,” Cornyn said, noting that between 2019 and 2023, reports of child sex abuse have more than doubled.
During a media event to mark the act’s unveiling, lawmakers said 84 percent of the material that has been found shows a child being sexually assaulted and almost half shows extreme abuse.
“For too long, hundreds of thousands of girls and boys have endured horrific abuse — often at the hands of adults who are supposed to protect them,” Tebow said on his foundation’s website.
“Children in our nation are right now living in the darkest of evils, crying out for help. Their pain must stir us to act. This is why we’re calling on Congress to pass legislation to strengthen our nation’s response to identifying and rescuing these boys and girls. Because even with law enforcement and organizations working around the clock to rescue these children, it’s just not enough,” he said.
Urge your representatives to co-sponsor the Renewed Hope Act of 2024 and prioritize the protection of children who are being sexually abused and exploited and are waiting to be identified and rescued. https://t.co/CqM1QDPI6y https://t.co/N2jt9N1nOx
— Tim Tebow (@TimTebow) September 12, 2024
“Americans consistently rank among the top consumers of online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC) livestreamed from the Philippines and around the world,” said Nate King, Director, U.S. Policy and Advocacy, International Justice Mission, noting 34 percent of cases involving Philippine children were linked to American customers.
“Identifying children victimized by online child sexual exploitation is crucial to recovering and safeguarding children from abusive situations,” said Derrick Driscoll, Chief Operating Officer of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
“The number of unknown children depicted in sexually exploitative imagery who need to be identified and recovered by law enforcement continues to grow exponentially as the volume of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) circulated online increases,” he said.
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