Det. Bryan Fischer has a new beat.

Instead of guarding Helena's streets, he will be patrolling online sites for Internet crimes against children.

Fischer assumed his new full-time position in December after it was funded by a grant from the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Within the first month in his new position, Fischer already has seven cases under investigation.

Fischer will go undercover in chat rooms and on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook.

"We're going to be all over the Internet," he said.

The children most at risk of being exploited on the Internet are 10- to 16-year-olds, he said.

"Although nobody is really immune to this type of thing," Fischer quickly added.

The task force now has offices in Helena, Billings and Missoula. Fischer is one of five detectives who will be full-time investigators.

Fischer, who at the end of the month will attend additional undercover training, said some predators reveal their criminal intentions within the first few minutes of meeting someone online, while others prefer to cultivate the appearance of a relationship before asking for or sending lewd photos or videos.

The children think if they are corresponding with someone on the computer then they can trust them, he said.

"The 16-year-old could be a 50-year-old man who is trying to get them to do something that they don't want to," Fischer said.

The number of people producing child pornography is growing because production is becoming increasingly easier, law enforcement officials say.

People can take photos and videos with their cell phones and then transmit the images all around the world in minutes, Fischer said.

In the past, criminals were often turned in because they had to take film to other people to be printed and developed. Digital technology has changed that.

Task force coordinator Tim West said the goal is to have all law enforcement agencies in the state know who to inform if they find something suspicious on a computer.

"I envision the state of Montana with a net over it protecting us from the bad guys," said West.

The task force currently includes authorities from police departments, sheriffs' offices, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

All the involved agencies, West said, are "highly motivated and very professional." On Friday, he sent out 118 letters to all of the police chiefs and sheriffs in the state to introduce them to the task force.

Down the road he hopes to have a tip line and Web site set up. For the time being, people with leads should contact local law enforcement, he said.

Helena was chosen as a satellite for the task force based on the activity in the area and the Helena Police Department's support, West said.

Montana previously didn't have the resources to investigate these cases, said Helena Police Chief Troy McGee.

"It is pretty new to us, but it is getting to be quite a problem … around the country," McGee said. "It became obvious that we have a need."

Helena will receive about $33,000 this year to cover equipment, training and overtime. The city will continue to pay Fischer's salary.

The renewable grant expires in February 2009.

Fischer, who has worked in law enforcement for two decades, began working in Helena in 2001 as the detective in cases involving violence against women. Over the past few years, Fischer found many of his abuse cases developing into federal child exploitation cases, which led to his new job.

City Manager Tim Burton said he has been in full support of Fischer's new role from the beginning.

"All you have to do is watch TV or read the newspaper to see what an issue child exploitation is. It is one of the most vicious kinds of crime," Burton said.

McGee said the only time the department will rely on Fischer for other investigations will be in large cases such as homicides.

"We feel there's enough work there that he'll be plenty busy," he said.

Fischer will be concentrating on the Helena area but will aid other agencies statewide. In 2007, he was involved in 30 investigations.

Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, said the task force is filling a growing need.

"In 1999, when this was not the problem it is now, we sentenced two people in the state for child pornography. We anticipate charging 70 people in 2008 for child pornography," Mercer said. "We're locking up people who would otherwise be on the street offending children."

Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Marcia Hurd agreed: "A fight is what this has become. It's become an explosion because of the technology."

The Internet has become a way of life for children, who for the most part do not have safety training on how to maneuver the Web, Hurd said. The goal of the task force is to protect children from pedophiles and also teach children how to protect themselves, she said.

Fischer said instruction in online safety is vital for parents and children because the kids often know more about the computers than the adults. He has made presentations in Helena and Bozeman schools and has more planned.

McGee said one of the most important points to get out to the public is that viewing child pornography is a federal crime.

"People may think it's a privacy issue and they can look at whatever they desire but obviously our society and lawmakers don't agree," he said.

Also, many people don't view the children in the pictures as victims, which they are, McGee added.

Pornographers swap files in peer-to-peer file-sharing programs online and visit commercial Web sites, which are mostly hosted overseas, Fischer said.

McGee said some predators, who are mostly men, abuse their own children and then distribute the images. Other times they send nude pictures of themselves to children or solicit the children to take illicit photos of themselves and send the images.

One predator had more than 26,000 images and video clips on his computer, McGee said.

"It boggles your mind how many images and videos they'll have on one computer," McGee said. "People think they have anonymity behind a computer."

Fischer said there is a direct correlation of online crimes to hands-on sexual offenses.

"If they're doing it on the computer, it will not always feed their need and they'll act out," he said.

Fischer admits the job takes its toll.

"Some of the stuff is extremely disturbing," he said.

McGee said he talks with Fischer frequently to ensure he is doing OK. He does the same with officers investigating violence against women and drug charges to make sure their jobs are not detrimental to their mental health.

Fischer said he has a strong base of people who support him.

"Plus, it helps to know you can get the guy with 20,000 images on his computer off of the street," Fischer said.

To hear Fischer describe his position, click on the play button below:

Reporter Angela Brandt: 447-4078 or angela.brandt@helenair.com