New Albany police officer recognized for work protecting children from predators

NEW ALBANY, Ohio (WCMH) – An officer with the New Albany Police Department has been recognized by Homeland Security Investigations, a law enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security, for his work protecting kids.

HSI has named Jacob Steinbrueck as the agency's Division Five Task Force Officer of the Year.

"It's very significant, we have hundreds of task force officers that partner with us on a daily basis throughout the states of Michigan and Ohio," said Matthew Stentz, Assistant Special Agent in Charge at HSI. "And for him to be singled out for his work and for his partnership is essential."

NBC4 first spoke with Steinbrueck earlier this year after an investigation he started led to the conviction of a man in Oregon on child porn charges.

“It’s probably one of the more fulfilling things I have done, especially now that I have my own children and they will one day I'm sure have cell phones and what not and it just gives me some comfort knowing I can take some of these people and help essentially arrest them," Steinbrueck said in February.

Steinbrueck works with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. In that role, he patrols the web for predators and works with HSI.

“The Oregon case is simply just one of the many examples that officer Steinbrueck has been investigating with us," Stentz said. "It's just one example of many investigations, many multijurisdictional investigations that he’s involved with, and he is being recognized for all of his body of work.”

Sgt. Garrett Fernander, Steinbrueck's supervisor at NAPD, said the officer's investigative skills are some of the best he's seen.

“Officer Steinbrueck has proven to be a real boon to us here at the department," Fernander said. "Some of these investigations have seen him go to other countries as part of the investigation, other states. We’ve seen investigations that have successfully led to apprehension before the child is actually abused."

HSI and DHS also work with communities on spreading awareness about information which can be helpful in fighting and preventing child exploitation.