ISP backs bill expanding its mission to investigate internet crimes against children

SPRINGFIELD – While Illinois State Police has long investigated child sex crimes, a new measure would explicitly name addressing internet crimes against children as a core mission of its criminal division.

House Bill 2586, also called Alicia’s Law, would add to the current 13 missions of the Illinois State Police Department of Criminal Investigations. It passed both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly unanimously in late May.

The bill is named after Alicia Kozak, a survivor of and advocate against online crimes against children, who was at the center of the first nationally known case of child grooming and abduction in 2002. At age 13, Kozak was abducted from her home after months of online grooming by a 38-year-old man, who took her across state lines and chained her in a basement, where she was sexually assaulted and tortured for four days. The perpetrator livestreamed Kozak’s abuse, which was quickly reported to the FBI by a viewer, aiding in Kozak’s release.

“I’ve spent the last 25 years sharing my story and presenting to audiences about online safety and advocating for critical change. And through my work, I’ve heard so many heartbreaking ‘if only’ stories, ‘if only we had known sooner’ or ‘if only we could have stopped it,’” Kozak said in an interview. “Now, with Alicia’s Law in Illinois, Illinois children are safer.”

If signed by the governor, Illinois will be the 13th state to adopt a variation of Alicia’s Law. In most states that have passed a version of the law, it allows states to create a task force to investigate internet crimes against children. Illinois already has such a task force that was created in 2004, although it’s currently under the attorney general’s office.

Illinois’ task force coordinates the AG’s office with state law enforcement officials to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases. During an October 2021 news conference, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said his office managed more than 5,100 cyber tips the year prior, an increase of more than 2,000 since 2018. Raoul said he expected that number to continue to grow, in part due to increased reporting and awareness by social media and apps.

Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said although ISP has become “much more engaged” in cases involving internet crimes against children in recent years, he said he believes it needs to be explicitly stated in statute that investigating those types of cases is one of ISP’s core duties.

Through talks with Kozak about the issue, Kelly said ISP drafted the bill and spearheaded efforts to get it passed during this year’s legislative session.

“We believe that this is something that is critical, this is important and that is essential to what our values are as the Illinois State Police,” Kelly said. “Making sure that this is a legal, permanent function of our agency is something that I think needed to be done because we want to make sure that these efforts are sustained over time.”

Kozak agreed.

“Before the law, investigating crimes against children in Illinois wasn’t really a legal obligation, it was something Illinois state police would choose to do when resources allowed,” Kozak said. “And now, with Alicia’s Law, it’s a permanent responsibility, it’s no longer optional.”

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