Started in 1996 by Alec Helmy, president and publisher of XBiz, ASACP was designed as a vehicle to combat child pornography. The group’s child porn reporting line receives thousands of reports each year and works closely with the online adult industry, both as a watchdog as well as an educational resource for people inside and outside the business.
“It's been an amazing 10 years for ASACP,” Helmy said. “ASACP owes its success to the industry it serves as well as to the talented individuals who are on its front lines: Joan Irvine, Tim Henning, Brandon Shalton, Rick Louis and all the other ASACP contributors.”
Compliance Director Henning, who has been with the group since nearly its inception, said ASACP began as a small operation. Its hotline only received 10-20 reports per day during the early years, he said, and each valid report was manually emailed to authorities.
Today, Henning said the ASACP receives more than 60,000 reports of suspect child pornography each year and forwards more than 2,500 confirmed reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the FBI, the State Attorney General's Office and several international hotlines.
“When you consider our humble beginnings, ASACP's metamorphosis and contribution to the battle against child pornography are quite startling,” Henning said.
In 2005, the American Society of Association Executives added ASACP to its Associations Advance America Honor Roll, a reward that designates the group as one that “propels America forward.” ASACP also received kudos from California State Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, who presented the group with a Certificate of Recognition for its ongoing work protecting children.
“ASACP's growth during the past decade reflects a whole industry coming together to do the right thing,” Irvine said. “But the fact that there is still such a great need for ASACP is also a sobering reminder that our work must go on.”