By Bethany Lenhardt, crime, safety and justice reporter
Amid sexual or domestic trauma, the New River Valley of Southwest Virginia is well-equipped with resources for male, female and child victims. Notably, the Women’s Resource Center provides counseling, education and emergency services to aid individuals in their healing journey.
This story’s intention and focus on minors’ experience has been derived from recent community events.
Michael Horning, previously an associate professor in Virginia Tech’s School of Communication, was sentenced this January for possession of child pornography and additional sex abuse material. According to the Department of Justice’s press release, Horning downloaded over 600 images and 14 videos via peer-to-peer filesharing software, including depictions of infants and toddlers.
Horning’s devices were seized in December 2021 as a part of the DOJ’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. In September 2024, Horning pled guilty to knowingly possessing one or more visual depictions of minors and was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison.
“Children don’t always know that abuse and things are wrong,” said Sherry Kramer, Program Director of the Women’s Resource Center NRV. “Then when they tell people, the people they tell may not react in the best way. They may get angry about the situation, and the child may think they’re angry at them.”
Kramer started working at the Women’s Resource Center of the NRV over 12 years ago. She has since served the community as a children’s counselor and program director. She contends that minors face unique challenges when reporting abuse. The response of their confidant must serve to empower and support the child, thus dictating if the incident gets taken seriously and reported.
Due to this challenge, cases of child sexual exploitation and abuse are ultimately underreported, says Kramer.
The United States Sentencing Commission reports that for the fiscal year of 2023, about 64,000 criminal cases were reported. Of that number, 1,408 cases involved child pornography. That number does not include cases in which the individuals are convicted of producing the material.
To combat underreporting and increase education and awareness in adolescents, the Center runs the Peaceline Violence Protection Program for Teens. Peaceline is designed for middle and high school-age students on how to navigate relationships among friends, family and romantic partners.
According to their website, “Education is the key to reducing the number of sexual assaults in the community.” If a student were to disclose a sexual assault or other experience to a Peaceline educator, they are trained in crisis intervention and can refer the student to further counseling services as needed. The program is free of charge.
“We’d like to get that information out to the whole community and to adults as well, but our main priority with Peaceline is educating on safety and healthy relationships,” Kramer said.
Peaceline aims to educate and encourage adolescents to come forward. The DOJ’s Project Safe Childhood (PSC) aims to increase the number of federal prosecutions on child predators. It was due to this nationwide initiative that Horning’s devices were seized and searched.
The initiative was launched in 2006 and expanded in 2011 to span all federal crimes exploiting a minor. Their mission is to “combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children.”
Since its inception, federal prosecutions of child sex offenders have increased significantly. The success rate of these prosecutions is a direct result of the increased number of international, federal, state, local and tribal investigations spearheaded by PSC.
“The threat of sexual predators soliciting children for physical sexual contact is well-known and serious,” according to PSC’s website. “The danger of perpetrators who produce, distribute and possess child pornography is equally dramatic and disturbing.”
A distinct challenge to community resources and PSC is the advancement of technology and its entanglement in the dark web.
“Technological advances have encouraged child sexual exploitation offenders, especially those operating online, to an unprecedented degree,” according to PSC’s website. “Among the most daunting and prevalent is offender utilization of anonymization networks, including Tor and Freenet, to obscure their identities. Because of the perceived anonymity, the most prolific and sophisticated offenders feel empowered to share enormous quantities of the most vile child exploitation images on a multitude of Internet bulletin boards.”
Horning was a user of Freenet.
For children who have experienced sexual exploitation or violence, once they’ve taken the steps to report it with a trusted adult, the struggle is not yet over. That’s why the Women’s Resource Center and other resources are with them every step of the way.
“Honestly, children have told me the most while playing the game of cards,” Kramer said. “Just giving them that comfort, that power and that open door to talk is the best way to get the kids to express themselves. We believe in them, support them, let them know they’re not alone. We have emergency advocates that go to hospitals anytime anyone needs a forensic exam, we’ll go to police departments if somebody’s being interviewed, etc.”
If a child needs to go through the court system, Court Appointed Special Advocates of the NRV is the tool for them. CASA volunteers are appointed by the court system to listen and advocate on behalf of a child in need. CASA of the NRV helps more than 100 children each year, according to their website.
Despite the perverse actions of sex offenders, the NRV community and the DOJ are prepared to help and stand in solidarity with the victims. At the Women’s Resource Center, Kramer says that when they answer the phone, they always start with, “Are you safe?” These crimes can make people of all ages feel powerless, but by asking, the power is placed back in the hands of the individual.
“Everybody has a right to safety,” Kramer said.
Virginia Tech spokesperson Mark Owczarski could not be reached for comment on this story.
Editor’s note: An edit was made on Feb. 20, 2025, to correct the name of the Women’s Resource Center.
Editor’s note: TheNewsFeedNRV.com is published by the Virginia Tech School of Communication’s Digital Newsroom course. Michael Horning was a former instructor of Digital Newsroom.
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