The Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (“CEOS”) and its forensic High Technology Investigative Unit (“HTIU”) are the nation’s experts in investigating and prosecuting high-technology federal child exploitation cases and crimes. CEOS Trial Attorneys and HTIU Digital Investigative Analysts lead the Department of Justice’s efforts to improve the enforcement of federal child exploitation laws and prevent the exploitation of children. CEOS and HTIU investigate and prosecute all federal child exploitation cases including those involving the production, sale, and trafficking in child sexual abuse material, the sex trafficking of minors, and United States citizens who engage in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places. In addition, CEOS and HTIU perform other vital functions within the Criminal Division, including providing advice and training to other federal child exploitation prosecutors, law enforcement personnel, and government officials, and participating in national and international meetings on training and policy development. CEOS also works to develop and refine proposals for prosecution policies, legislation, government practices, and agency regulations.

Legal interns work directly with the CEOS Trial Attorneys on a variety of assignments, ranging from conducting legal research and writing to assisting in investigations and prosecutions of child exploitation offenses.

Spring and fall applicants must be available to work at least 24 hours per week (across at least 3 days) for a minimum of 10 weeks. This requirement is not negotiable, and availability must be confirmed with the applicant and their educational institution before an interview can be conducted. The summer internship is full-time (at least 32 hours across 5 days per week). This is a fully in-person internship.

2L and 3L students are eligible to apply for all academic semesters; 1L students are only eligible to apply for the summer internship. All offers are subject to obtaining a proper security clearance after a review conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. U.S. citizenship is required and applicants must have resided in the U.S. for at least 37 of the last 60 months.

Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, current law school transcript, and legal writing sample at least five pages in length via email to ceos.interns@usdoj.gov. The cover letter should be addressed to Eduardo Palomo and McKenzie Hightower, Internship Coordinators. All documents should be in PDF format; a single, combined PDF (rather than multiple) is preferred.

We review applications on a rolling basis. Candidates are strongly encouraged to apply early as positions may be filled before the deadline. Submission deadlines for each semester are as follows:

Fall internship position: June 15

Spring internship position: October 1

Summer internship position: February 1

For more information, visit our website: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos

These positions are volunteer (uncompensated).