Podcast Summary – Suffer the Little Children –

Episode 195: The Innocent (with Nate Lewis)
Date: May 8, 2025
Host: Lane
Guest: Nate Lewis (CEO and Founder, The Innocent)

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation between host Lane and Nate Lewis, the founder and CEO of The Innocent, a nonprofit dedicated to training law enforcement in preventing and investigating child sex crimes in the United States. Their discussion covers Nate’s personal motivation, the real-world mechanics and prevalence of child exploitation, the crucial need for education, the evolving approach of law enforcement, dangers facing children online, and actionable advice for families and communities.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Nate Lewis’s Background and Motivation

• Hollywood Roots & Personal Trauma:
  • Nate begins by sharing his experience in Hollywood, his work with Jim Caviezel (from the film Sound of Freedom), and how he got introduced to issues around trafficking and child exploitation.
    “I work with Jim Caviezel…that’s actually how I got introduced to trafficking, solicitation...before I started this organization to focus 100 here in the United States.” (03:23)
  • He describes his own childhood sexual abuse and a kidnapping at gunpoint. Rather than dwelling on these events, he channels them as fuel to prevent harm to others:
    “I buried these things so deep...But then after really understanding what’s going on...it brought back such a massive desire to want to prevent it from happening to somebody else, because I’ve lived through those experiences.” (04:02)

2. The Innocent’s Mission and Methods

• Training Law Enforcement:
  • The Innocent provides free, specialized, proactive training to law enforcement agencies on child sex crime prevention, investigations, and operations.
  • Focus has shifted from aiding investigations to building task forces, including practical operations training and follow-up support.
    “Our mission is to protect the innocence of the children in the United States.” (03:23)
  • “We’re focused on preventative...How do you go online being a child and get recruited and build these cases and make arrests.” (14:11)
  • Training includes real-world sting operations and is designed for scalability, involving collaboration among neighboring departments and continuing support after the trainers leave. (21:29, 25:03, 26:06)
• Community Funding & Access:
  • All services and resources are funded by public donations, not taxpayer or government dollars (03:23, 14:11, 63:08).

3. Current Threats to Children in America

• Prevalence and Misconceptions:
  • Both highlight the gap between public perceptions (shaped by conspiracies or media portrayals) and the actual statistical reality:
    “A lot of people, maybe they just don’t understand...listening to the amount of cases being investigated...would blow people’s mind.” (05:34)
  • Trafficking has many forms beyond the “stranger” in a van narrative, including non-contact offenses like grooming or sharing images online:
    “Human trafficking, people think it’s just like kids locked up in a moving van ... reality is ... girls are being asked to send photos ... and that does fall underneath those stat[utes].” (05:34–07:31)
  • The vast majority of child sex crimes are committed by someone the victim knows or trusts (about 90%), with psychological manipulation—the heart of grooming—often starting online or via social media. (07:51)
• Key Statistics:
  • “According to Department of Justice, 90% of these sex crimes happen by somebody that they know or trust.” (07:51)
  • The average pedophile abuses 117 victims in their lifetime (National Sex Offenders Registry). (19:21)

4. The Transforming Law Enforcement Approach

• From Judgment to Empathy:
  • Nate describes a substantial shift in police training from punitive, criminal-focused responses to trauma-informed, empathetic interaction with survivors.
    “They’re really starting to build relationships with these survivors from the very beginning and not just put them into an interrogation but build the trust.” (11:10)
  • Operations now build in stages: trust-building, live undercover activity, actual arrests, and ongoing guidance.
  • Longer-acting, collaborative task forces are more viable—small districts can share one or two officers each for regional effectiveness. (26:06, 31:35)

5. Proactive vs. Reactive Investigations

• Why Proactive Policing Matters:
  • Nate emphasizes going on the offense against buyers and predators, not merely reacting to reports:
    “If there wasn’t buyers, there would be no traffickers...That’s what’s so critical: being proactive.” (14:11)
  • High-quality, well-prepared cases are key for effective prosecution and strong sentencing. (14:11)
• Mental Health for Law Enforcement:
  • Exposure to these crimes traumatizes officers, necessitating institutional support and therapy for both officers and their families. (30:41–46:47) “You gotta get a really good therapist...It’s okay to sit in it for ten minutes, but you can’t live in it for ten days...You have to feel to heal.” (44:38–45:44)

6. Online Dangers and Digital Grooming

• Social Media as Greatest Threat:
  • “The number one, number two, and number three actually...place where children are recruited is on Facebook, the second is Snapchat, and the third is Instagram.” (47:09)
  • Only 2% of trafficked children are kidnapped; most are contacted/recruited online. (47:31)
  • Modern predators exploit disappearing messages, privacy loopholes, and platforms’ slow/inadequate response to law enforcement requests (Snapchat “emergency” team, Facebook legal requirements, and Xbox’s proactive safety efforts). (49:21–54:47)
• Practical Parental Advice:
  • Parents must check messaging apps for disappearing messages settings and maintain open, non-punitive dialogue with their children. (49:21)
  • "Make sure that the disappearing messages is disabled...There's no reason why would they even make that on their app? Because people want to hide their conversations." (49:21)

7. Critique of Vigilante Approaches

• On ‘Catch a Predator’-style Vigilantes:
  • Untrained YouTubers and others often hurt cases:
    “It’s actually not helpful...all you’re doing is making them become better criminals...Law enforcement don’t love a lot of these individuals because their motive might be to get famous.” (33:00)
  • Such actions risk legal violations (entrapment, illegal searches), endanger public safety, and only raise the risks for victims.
  • Working with, not against, law enforcement is critical to ensuring prosecutions hold up in court. (33:00–37:40)
• Chris Hansen as an Example:
  • He worked alongside trained police, ensuring legality and case prosecutability—unlike many vigilante groups. (40:08)

8. Positive Outcomes and Hope

• Successes of The Innocent:
  • The organization has trained dozens of agencies/officers in the first 19 months, creating ongoing community-level task forces.
    “This is the most rewarding work I’ve ever done. This is the best day in 20 years.” (21:29)
  • Tailored approaches allow small, rural, and large departments to participate. (26:06)
  • Collaborative impact is multiplied when communities step up to fund local training and resources (every $10/month donation counts). (63:08)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Abuse and Motivation:
  “I was sexually abused about a week after my 12th birthday...I understand that things happened in my life for me to really fuel me to want to protect other children from anything like this ever happening to them.” — Nate Lewis (04:02)
• On Prevalence of Online Danger:
  “Only 2% of children that end up in trafficking are actually kidnapped...the rest are not.” — Nate Lewis (47:31)
• On Law Enforcement’s Evolving Mindset:
  “Before it was like, oh, these are criminals, arrest them...But now they're actually training law enforcement to look at it differently...build relationships with these survivors from the very beginning.” — Nate Lewis (11:10)
• On Parental Action:
  “You have to have a real relationship with your children and it has to be a safe place for them that they’re not going to get in trouble even if they ended up going like ‘Hey, I did something really stupid, mom or dad...’" – Nate Lewis (65:59)
• On Boys Becoming Predators:
  “Make sure your son doesn’t become a predator... If you’re teaching your kids not to shoplift, you better be teaching them not to ask for photos.” — Nate Lewis (69:35)
• On the Most Dangerous Place for Children Today:
  “Are you allowing a phone into their bedroom behind closed doors? Because that's one of the most dangerous places...” — Nate Lewis (48:39)
• On Familial Impact and Healing:
  “The family members need it too, because they're the ones that are dealing with the individual who's carrying the trauma home with them.” — Nate Lewis (41:36)
• On Community Contribution:
  “We're 100% funded by the people...as little as $10 a month...if everybody listening does at least $10 a month, together we actually can make real impact.” — Nate Lewis (63:08)
• On Early Education and Prevention:
  “You have to start having these conversations and...parents don’t really know where to start with these conversations because they're not educated as well.” — Nate Lewis (10:24)
• On Grooming Tactics:
  “Watch out for this one...‘Oh, your parents just don't understand.’...They're trying to separate you from your parents.” — Nate Lewis (71:48)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Nate’s Background & Motivation: 03:23–05:09
• Stats, Myths & Reality: 05:09–07:51
• Grooming & Victim Dynamics: 07:51–10:03
• Importance of Education: 10:05–11:10
• Law Enforcement’s New Approach: 11:10–14:00
• Proactive Cases vs. Reactive Calls: 14:11–17:42
• Predator Statistics: 19:21–20:16
• Formation and Structure of The Innocent’s Programs: 21:29–28:37
• International Perspective and Emotional Toll: 28:45–30:41; 43:50–46:47
• Community-Level Implementation: 31:35–32:35
• Vigilante Critique: 33:00–38:11
• Online Risks & Social Media: 47:06–54:47
• Parent Advice and Digital Boundaries: 55:14–57:08; 64:22–70:09
• Role of Dads and Warning Signs: 66:38–67:43
• Boys as Victims and Perpetrators: 69:15–71:37

Actionable Takeaways & Resources

For Communities:

• Visit theinnocent.org
• Sign up for their email newsletter to stay informed and participate
• Use the “Community” link to spearhead local training or fundraising
• Monthly donations as little as $10 collectively drive change

For Law Enforcement:

• Use the site’s “Law Enforcement” link (requires gov ID) for training/equipment/software inquiries

For Parents:

• Openly communicate with your children about online dangers and grooming
• Disable disappearing messages and lock down social accounts to private
• Foster a safe, non-punitive relationship so your children confide in you
• Teach boys about consent, respect, and the legal consequences of exploiting others

For All:

• Advocate for proactive law enforcement training
• Support survivors and those working these cases
• Be aware: Most online activity is traceable, but prevention starts at home

Final Thoughts

This episode provides a sobering, practical, and hopeful guide for protecting children against a hidden epidemic. Nate Lewis and The Innocent are at the forefront, equipping law enforcement, educating families, and empowering communities—reminding us that collective action and honest conversations can make a tangible difference in keeping kids safe.

For further resources, links, and to support The Innocent, visit their website and follow on social media (check the show notes for details).