Operation Light Shine

Directions Website Contact the organization

Operation Light Shine Shining a light of hope into the dark world of human trafficking and child exploitation.
(1)

10/16/2026

"I know I have more to contribute. I don’t want to leave.”

Detective Cari DePasquale was preparing to leave the work of investigating crimes against children. The cases kept pouring in. The resources weren’t enough. Physically, emotionally, and mentally, she was drained.

She still wanted to fight for those children. But the work was taking a devastating toll on her.

Then an emergency case came in. She rescinded her transfer letter and stayed.

Staying should not mean having to sacrifice your health because you don’t have enough help.

Detective DePasquale describes what changed when the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and other local agencies partnered with Operation Light Shine to establish the Southwest Florida INTERCEPT Task Force.

In her words, it has been “a night and day difference.”

When we ask you to support this work, this is what we’re asking you to make possible. Help for the detective facing another urgent case. Technology to uncover evidence. Enough people to keep investigations moving toward the children who need them.

Your donation helps give investigators the support to keep doing the work they don’t want to walk away from.

Help equip them. Help reach more children. Give through the link in our bio.

10/15/2026

A real child’s dignity and safety are at stake, even when an image is created with AI.

An in-depth investigation led by the Southwest Florida INTERCEPT Task Force resulted in the arrest of Jesus Morales, a 32-year-old Naples man, on 10 felony charges.

Investigators reported that Morales used AI to generate sexually explicit images involving a minor, which were found on his phone. He faces nine counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and one count of generated altered sexual depiction without consent.

Uncovering evidence like this takes specialized technology, training, and investigators who know how to follow it.

Operation Light Shine helps equip those investigators through our INTERCEPT Task Forces. Your support helps them uncover exploitation that could otherwise stay hidden and build cases that pursue accountability.

Behind the evidence is a child who deserves protection.
Behind the investigation are people who need the resources to act.

10/13/2026

Years ago, Det. Chris Wilkinson helped save Rebekah's life. Today, he gets to hear her tell her own story.

Rebekah was just a child when she needed help. Now she’s an adult, sharing her story alongside reflections from the retired detective who helped her. It’s a story they will both carry for the rest of their lives.

An investigation can change what comes next for a child. The chance to grow up. To make their own choices. To have a life beyond what someone did to them.

Rebekah has lived the years that came after. Hearing her and Chris reflect on that experience brings that future into focus.

At Operation Light Shine, we help equip investigators through our INTERCEPT Task Forces and our Direct Agency Partnerships. The resources we fund help them follow evidence, find children being harmed, and take action.

When you give, you help an investigator reach a child who is still waiting for help. A child whose story is still unfolding.

Help us reach them.

10/12/2026

A child needs help. An investigator is determined to find them. But determination alone cannot trace the digital evidence that leads to that child.

“If we get on the trail of somebody that’s hurting a child, we’re not gonna stop till we find that child.”

Retired Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Detective Chris Wilkinson shares the commitment behind this work. Investigators will keep going, even through an 18-hour day. But they need the technology to uncover evidence and the training to know where it leads.

Without those resources, critical leads can go unanswered while a child continues to be harmed.

This is why Operation Light Shine exists. Through our INTERCEPT Task Forces, we help put those resources into investigators’ hands.

Your donation helps turn “we need to find this child” into “we know where to look.”

Give today to help equip the people working to reach them. Link in bio.

You don’t have to prove how much you’re hurting to deserve support.You may be living through something painful, trying t...
10/10/2026

You don’t have to prove how much you’re hurting to deserve support.

You may be living through something painful, trying to heal from something that happened years ago, or struggling in ways you don’t yet have words for. What you’re feeling deserves care. Someone else’s pain does not make yours less real.

This World Mental Health Day, Operation Light Shine stands with victims and survivors, with law enforcement and those who care for others, and with anyone quietly trying to get through the day.

Behind every role, every uniform, and every story is a person. Someone who deserves to be heard, supported, and given room to say, “I’m having a hard time.”

Check on the person who always seems strong. Make time for an honest answer. And give yourself the same compassion you so readily offer others.

Whatever you’re carrying, you deserve support today and every day.

You care about your child’s online safety. But knowing what to look for, what to say, and when to step in can feel overw...
10/08/2026

You care about your child’s online safety. But knowing what to look for, what to say, and when to step in can feel overwhelming.

That’s why we created the W.A.T.C.H. Parent Playbook.

With guidance for ages 6–18, warning signs, conversation starters, and steps to take when something goes wrong, it puts our mission to equip, educate, and empower into your hands.

You don’t have to have all the answers. Start with one conversation, one boundary, or one question you haven’t asked yet.

Download the playbook through the link in our bio, and share this post with another parent who could use it.

Last week, our CEO and Executive Director, Bryan Weight, was honored to represent Operation Light Shine in New York City...
10/07/2026

Last week, our CEO and Executive Director, Bryan Weight, was honored to represent Operation Light Shine in New York City as a panelist for World Childhood Foundation USA’s “Protecting Childhood in the Age of AI.”

Bryan had the opportunity to share insights from what OLS and our law enforcement partners are seeing on the front lines as technology and AI continue to change the landscape of child exploitation.

World Childhood Foundation USA has been an incredible partner and supporter of Operation Light Shine, investing in our mission and helping us provide law enforcement with critical technology and resources to better protect children.

We are incredibly grateful for this partnership and for the opportunity to be part of important conversations like this. Protecting children in a rapidly changing world takes all of us working together, and we’re proud to stand alongside partners who share that commitment.

Thank you, World Childhood Foundation USA, for believing in our mission, supporting our work, and continuing to shine a light of hope for children.

We should not have to exist. But while children are being exploited, we have a responsibility to act.The investigators w...
10/05/2026

We should not have to exist. But while children are being exploited, we have a responsibility to act.

The investigators working to protect them don’t always have the resources their cases demand.

We see their commitment firsthand. We also see what becomes possible when that commitment is backed by the right technology, training, and partnerships.

That’s why we’re here.

Through our INTERCEPT Task Forces and our Direct Agency Partnerships, we help equip law enforcement and bring agencies together so they can reach more victims and hold more offenders accountable.

Every partnership, every donation, and every person who shares our mission helps support that work.

We should not have to exist. But while the need is here, so are we.

10/02/2026

Who is Operation Light Shine?

That’s a great question. And it’s one we want more people asking.

Because when you hear the name Operation Light Shine, we want you to understand exactly what it represents.

We are a national nonprofit that stands beside those on the front lines fighting human trafficking and child exploitation.

We equip law enforcement with technology and resources. We strengthen investigations through specialized training. We bring agencies together through our INTERCEPT Task Force model. And we educate communities and build partnerships that create real, measurable impact.

Since our beginning, Operation Light Shine has invested more than $4.5 million directly into law enforcement and helped provide more than $1 million in investigative technology.

But our impact is bigger than a number.

It’s an investigator having the tools needed to follow a lead. It’s agencies working together instead of working alone. It’s stronger investigations, better-equipped teams and communities that understand they have a role to play, too.

That is Operation Light Shine.

We equip. We educate. We empower.

Because protecting children isn’t the responsibility of one agency or one organization. It belongs to all of us.

Together, we protect.

What if your child is struggling to fit in?What if your sibling doesn’t feel like they are good enough?What if your frie...
10/01/2026

What if your child is struggling to fit in?
What if your sibling doesn’t feel like they are good enough?
What if your friend is lonely?
What if your student feels like no one understands them?
What if someone you love is desperate to feel seen, accepted or wanted?

And then someone comes along who seems to understand exactly what they need.
They listen. They give the compliments that they want. They always respond. They say all the right things.
“I understand you.”
“You can tell me anything.”
“I’m always here.”

To the person you care about, that's not grooming. It'll feel like someone finally cares.

A predator doesn’t always have to create a vulnerability. They can recognize one that already exists and begin filling the need behind it.
Attention becomes trust. Trust creates access. And over time, that access can and will become influence.

Vulnerability isn’t about something being “wrong” with someone. Sometimes it’s a need to belong, to be heard, to feel pretty, to feel loved or to have someone show up.
Pay attention to the people you love.

Vulnerability can be difficult to see, but understanding what it can look like can help us recognize when someone may be taking advantage of it.

Address

Nashville, TN
37211

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Operation Light Shine posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Operation Light Shine:

Shortcuts

Share

Category