SPRINGFIELD, IL (Chambana Today) – The Illinois State Police (ISP) backed a bill that expanding on its mission to investigate internet crimes against children.
A new measure would allow the ISP explicitly to investigate 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. The bill passed both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly unanimously in late May. The bill is named after Alicia Kozak, who was at the first nationally child grooming and abduction case in 2002.
She was abducted and tortured at 13-years-old by a 38-year-old man for four days. Her abuse was livestreamed, which was reported to the FBI, aiding in her 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.”
Illinois will be the 13th state to adopt a variation of Alicia’s Law if signed.
“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,” Illinois State Police Director Brendan 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.”