Florida Marine double amputee goes to war against child predators

After losing both legs in Afghanistan, Just Gaertner moved to the front lines of another war
Marine fights against online child predators
ABC Action News
Alison Morrow
October 18, 2013

TAMPA, Fla. - After losing both legs during his third deployment to Afghanistan, a Pasco County man finally achieved his dream of returning to war.

Except, this time, the battlefield looks a little different.

"In the beginning, when I first got blown up, I thought my life was over," Justin Gaertner said.

"We think this is the end."

On his third deployment to Afghanistan, the young Marine was hit by an IED. Perhaps equally debilitating, he lost a future in combat.

At the same time, however, another war gained momentum closer to home.

"It's disturbing work. It's very upsetting. It's challenging. It's not for everybody," explained HSI Special Agent In Charge Susan McCormick.

McCormick oversees forensic analysis that tracks child exploitation from a field office in Tampa. It's one of a dozen new test sites for the "HERO Corps" pilot program.

Gaertner is one of 17 veterans participating, after training for two months in forensic analysis and digital evidence collection.

"It's kind of like going back to bootcamp," Gaertner said.

"It's exactly like going back in the battlefield. It's the same thing."
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Wounded veterans train to help fight sex crimes
By YESENIA AMARO
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Justin Gaertner of Tampa, Fla. is part of the HERO Corps pilot class. (Courtesy) Las Vegas won’t be Iraq or Afghanistan for Kevin Leduc, but it will give the Army veteran the opportunity to continue to serve his country.

The 31-year-old former special operations infantryman is one of 17 veterans — many of whom were wounded in the line of duty — who will be deployed across the nation by federal law enforcement agencies to help solve criminal cases involving child pornography and online sexual exploitation.

“It’s my second chance to serve through the government,” he said Friday afternoon from Washington, D.C.

Leduc is part of a new pilot program, the Human Exploitation Rescue Operative Child Rescue Corps, called the HERO Corps. Graduates of the program will work at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations offices across the nation. Their job: to assist special agents using computer forensic skills obtained during intensive training during the past couple of weeks.

Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s western region, described the program as a “win-win” for those involved.

“It’s a great opportunity for us,” she said. “And it’s a great opportunity for the veterans.”

The original idea for the program was brought to the table by the National Association to Protect Children, Kice said. They wanted to create a program for veterans no longer able to serve in the military.
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