HARRISBURG – The PA House passed Alicia’s Law which would create a dedicated state grant program to help law enforcement find, investigate, and prosecute internet predators targeting children. The bill is named for Alicia Kozak, a Pittsburgh-area girl who was abducted in 2002 at the age of 13 by a man she met online. It was one of the first documented cases of its kind in the country. Alicia survived and has spent years advocating for stronger protections so other children don’t go through what she did. House Bill 1098 would establish the Investigation and Prosecution of Internet Crimes Against Children Program within the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency. It creates a state-level funding structure to fund law enforcement task forces made up of state and local prosecutors dedicated to investigating and prosecuting online crimes against minors; supplement federal funding for task forces combating child sexual exploitation online; and train task force members on the latest techniques for detecting, investigating, and prosecuting these crimes. The bill moves to the PA Senate.
ALICIA KOZAK