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South Carolina's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is getting stronger. Today, Attorney General Henry McMaster announced that seven Upstate law enforcement agencies are joining the team. In this report, I discover that the program has leaders in other states watching the Carolinas closely.

The Daniel children are young, too young for Internet chat rooms. Even so, their parents already worry about Internet predators. Christopher Daniel says, "Ten years ago, it wasn't even there. Now I do it daily at work and everywhere. As it continues to grow, how many more predators are there going to be? How many more activities are there going to be? How much more unsafe are my children going to be in the future?"

The threat is very real. I saw it for myself back in May when News Channel 7 sat down with a Spartanburg County investigator who posed as a 12-year-old on-line. It took less than a minute for an adult to start making advances. McMaster says, "It's going to get worse before it gets better as computers and Internet become more and more accessible to children."

That is why more and more law enforcement agencies are joining the ICAC Task Force. The seven new agencies include: Central Police, Clemson Police, Greenville Police, Liberty Police, along with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office and the Oconee County Sheriff's Office. The ICAC Task Force now has 19 member agencies statewide.

Officers spend hours on the Internet trying to catch predators before they have a chance to prey on young victims. They have arrested 34 people since the program began more than two years ago. In the beginning, SLED was the only agency conducting on-line predator stings. The program is becoming more successful as more officers join. Twenty-four of the 34 arrests were made this year alone and each additional officer on the task force can really make a difference. Today, McMaster gave special thanks to the State's top cop when it comes to catching Internet predator suspects. Westminster Police Investigator Mark Patterson has made 10 arrests on his own.

McMaster says none of it would be possible without the Internet Predator Law that was enacted back in April 2004. It makes it unlawful to lure children over the Internet for sex. The predator doesn't have to travel anywhere to meet a child in order to be breaking the law. Investigators say just chatting about it on-line is enough to warrant an arrest.

McMaster says he has received calls from leaders in other states inquiring about South Carolina's ICAC Task Force. He wouldn't elaborate on which states are interested but says, "Maybe if other states do what we're doing and (follow) the example and the model we're establishing here, maybe we'll be able to cut down on the pain and misery these children are experiencing because it's a life-destroying experience to have one of these predators get you." That is something the Daniels, like other parents of young children, say they will worry about until their children are old enough to understand the dangers that are out there.