Country star John Rich has hit song and partnership with DHS to combat child exploitation

Country star John Rich released his new song "The Righteous Hunter" as a call to action against child exploitation and online predators targeting American kids. 

Speaking to Just the News about the massive problem youths face, Rich said, "There's not enough law enforcement in the world to combat the level of problem that we're facing in this country with child predators and traffickers. This is a song written from the parents' perspective. I'm actually talking directly to the predator in the song, like if you think you want to come get my kid, you're going to have to deal with me and that's not going to go well for you."

Inspired by Sean "Diddy" Combs' disturbing claim that he "owns your kids' souls," Rich drew from his collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security, which reported over 36 million instances of children being targeted online in a single year, to craft lyrics that empower parents to fight back with unyielding resolve. 

The accompanying music video starkly recreates real trafficking scenarios using rescued children as actors, transitioning to themes of redemption and warning predators with lines like "Better give your soul to Jesus while I get my gun," urging widespread sharing to raise awareness.

In 2023, reports of suspected online child sexual exploitation in the United States surged to over 36 million, a nearly twentyfold increase from 2.1 million in 2020, according to data highlighted in Department of Defense analyses of National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reports.

Almost 2,000 child victims identified or rescued in 2024

In Fiscal Year 2024, the Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) identified or rescued 1,783 child victims through child exploitation investigations focused on online abuse. That same year, HSI supported 6,939 new child exploitation investigations and arrested 4,959 individuals for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children.

The exploitation of minors has been a flashpoint issue this year with the ongoing quest for transparency surrounding the release of the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files. Epstein, a convicted sex offender who ran a large-scale sex-trafficking operation targeting underage girls, died in jail in 2019. President Donald Trump promised the files' release on the campaign trail and signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law on November 19, compelling the justice department to release all unclassified records related to Jeffrey Epstein's investigation within 30 days.

"Duty of Care" issue the sticking point

On Capitol Hill, the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), reintroduced in May 2025 by Senators Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is advancing through negotiations despite tensions over the House's narrower version that omits a key "duty of care" provision to hold platforms accountable for harms like sexual exploitation and addictive features. 

Meanwhile, the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), reintroduced in March 2025 by Senators Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., seeks to update privacy rules by banning targeted advertising to minors and minimizing data collection to shield children from online exploitation.

Musician Rich partnered with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Know2Protect campaign to raise awareness about online child exploitation. In April 2025, Rich hosted a livestream event on X featuring DHS Special Agent Dennis Fetting and Secretary Kristi Noem, designed to educate parents and sixth-grade-appropriate children on recognizing and preventing sexual extortion and other digital threats.

Rich was one half of the duo Big & Rich, whose debut album "Horse of a Different Color" (2004), a blend of rap, bluegrass and country music often called "gangstagrass." It went triple-platinum and spawned hits like "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)," which became a cultural phenomenon. 

Now a solo artist and prolific songwriter, he has earned multiple No. 1 hits (including Gretchen Wilson’s "Redneck Woman" and Faith Hill’s "Mississippi Girl"), won CMA (Country Music Awards) and ACM (Academy of Country Music) Awards.

He has produced albums for artists like Gretchen Wilson and Jason Aldean, and was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2024.