TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — Operation Light Shine is opening its first INTERCEPT Task Force in Alabama in 2026.

Operation Light Shine is a nonprofit that works to end child exploitation and human trafficking across the country. The nonprofit has five INTERCEPT Task Force locations in Tennessee, Florida, Virginia and Maryland.

The Tuscaloosa location is set to open around February, said Cpt. Phil Simpson of the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force.

“This is a huge deal for us,” Simpson said. “We’ll be adding people, equipment and capabilities that we don’t currently have.”

The West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force includes agents from the Northport, Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama police departments as well as the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. The task force receives about 30 tips a week ranging from sextortion to child sexual abuse cases.

“It’s a huge growing trend, and it’s to the point where we needed to add processing capabilities that streamline the process of handling each case, so we can take on more cases,” Simpson said.

The partnership between the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force and Operation Light Shine will primarily target Tuscaloosa, but the INTERCEPT Task force will have jurisdiction across the state.

“That’s what’s great about the federal partnerships,” said Operation Light Shine Executive Director Bryan Weight. “We’re able to be nimble and go into other counties and areas, arrest as many offenders as we can and give them maximum sentences.”

The fastest growing major crime in the world is online child sexual abuse, according to the nonprofit.

“It’s not what it used to be. It’s not a bad guy in a white van,” Weight said. “Right now, that van is parked inside your home, in your kid’s room, holding it in their hand. It’s your kid’s cellphone.”

One reason is because of social media and that nearly everyone of all ages has an electronic device, Weight said. While some online platforms have online encryptions in place to protect their users, it’s protecting the person who is sexually exploiting children, Weight said.

In 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received over 19 million reports about child sexual abuse material.

“This is an epidemic we’re dealing with,” Weight said.

One reason is because of social media and that nearly everyone of all ages has an electronic device, Weight said. Operation Light Shine’s goal is to give parents and the community the tools they need to properly educate their children, so these crimes do not happen in the first place.

When these crimes happen, law enforcement rely on tips from victims, family, friends and Internet Crimes Against Children. Once a tip or report is made, just like with any crime, officers need enough evidence to obtain a search warrant.

When a warrant is executed, electronics are seized and everything on a device: photos, videos, text messages and the metadata is entered into evidence.

“They can get up to one terabyte, which some people might go ‘Oh, that’s not a lot,’” Weight said. “But if you were to print that, that’s over a 500 million pieces of paper. That’s what we’re seizing every day.”

The time it takes to go through all that information is tedious, Simpson said, and given the nature of these types of cases, it takes a toll on agents.

“That stuff is horrendous, and it stays with them,” Simpson said.

Operation Light Shine has technology that shows investigators when content has already been flagged for CSAM. The West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force does not have that technology, which means agents must verify it firsthand.

“It will protect our investigators from having to view as much CSAM as they do,” Simpson said. Thus, the INTERCEPT Task force will also play a positive role in “looking at the mental wellbeing of our investigators and their long-term mental health,” Simpson said.

Operation Light Shine obtains the resources, training, and funding to support local law enforcement and set up INTERCEPT Task Forces because of the donations they receive.