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The Internet has many wonderful applications, but it has also
afforded new opportunities for criminals and sexual predators. A New
York couple, for example, convinced a 15-year-old girl to meet them
at the mall where she worked, promising to help her run away from
home. From the mall, the couple took the girl to their home, where
she was repeatedly sexually assaulted and beaten. Then they took her
to another home, where she was sexually attacked by a third adult.
The girl originally met the couple in an online chat room. "As if
parents didn't have enough to worry about, now they have to worry
about criminals and sex predators going after their children on the
Internet too," Blagojevich said. "We're not going to tolerate that.
That's why we're creating a new Internet Crimes Unit at the State
Police that will approach Internet crime the same way we approach
organized crime, narcotics and other major crimes. It's why we're
going to toughen penalties and increase jail time for Internet
criminals and sex predators. And it's why we're going to give
parents a place to call when they have questions, concerns or
specific information to report. I know this isn't an issue the state
has to take on, but I think it would be wrong not to."
The governor's plan has four main components:
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Creating a
centralized Internet Crimes Unit under Illinois State Police
authority.
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Increasing
penalties for Internet crime.
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Designing the
Internet Crimes Unit to serve as a "one-stop shopping" center
where the public can report suspicious online behavior and get
information about Internet crime and safety.
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Using the most
advanced law enforcement technology available to combat Internet
crime.
Internet Crimes Unit
The Illinois Internet Crimes Unit will be comprised of 10
officers, seven computer forensic investigators and eight crime
analysts. The goal is to create a unique enforcement group capable
of educating the public, gathering information from the private
sector, coordinating investigations with other bodies and agencies
of law enforcement, de-conflicting investigative efforts,
researching crime, proactively searching the Web for criminal
activity, and then performing the required forensic work to further
investigative efforts and assist prosecutors in jailing offenders.
Direct links to a dedicated website for the Internet Crimes Unit
will be placed on all state Web pages so the public can report crime
to the unit. A toll-free number and direct e-mail address will also
be established for the public. The Internet Crimes Unit will work
with local, state and federal law enforcement bodies and agencies to
investigate crimes reported and those found through their own
investigative work.
Internet crime penalties
Legislation will increase penalties for Internet criminals and
sex predators. Proposed changes:
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Elevating a first-time Internet stalking offense to the felony
level.
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Establishing an Internet Predator Investigation and Prosecution
Fund.
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Addressing the quantity and type of child pornography in
sentencing considerations.
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Making misrepresentation of a person via the Internet a criminal
offense.
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Adding the use of electronic communications as a factor in
aggravation.
"One-stop shopping" Internet crime center
The Internet Crimes Unit will educate the public, provide an
initial point of contact for citizen inquiries, serve as a
repository for public safety information, offer statewide
de-confliction for investigations, offer criminal intelligence
analysis for law enforcement agencies, and provide nontraditional
techniques for monitoring and preventing criminal predatory behavior
and recovering computer evidence for investigations and trial
preparation.
Internet crime law enforcement technology
While respecting the rights and civil liberties of individuals,
the most advanced law enforcement technology, such as Riverglass, a
data analysis tool currently used to combat narcotic trafficking,
organized crime and terrorism, will be used to help track online
criminal activity.
The governor's office is currently working with the Illinois
State Police and proper authorities to establish the Internet Crimes
Unit, and the new legislation will be submitted to the Illinois
General Assembly for approval during the fall veto session in
November.
In July, Blagojevich signed several new laws designed to help
protect both sex crimes victims and communities from sexual
predators, including these:
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House Bill 4222 requires sexual predators to be on Global
Positioning System monitoring during parole.
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Senate Bill 859 requires disclosure of sex offenses for teacher
endorsement and certification.
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House Bill 4606 extends the deadline from two years to three
years for certain victims of sexual assault to report the offense to
law enforcement in order for the 10-year statute of limitations to
apply.
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Senate Bill 2962 puts additional restrictions on a sex offender's
ability to get a driver's license.
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Senate Bill 2873 allows an offender who is in prison because of a
non-sex offense perpetrated while on parole for a sex offense to be
referred to the attorney general for commitment as a sexually
violent person.
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House Bill 4298 creates the Interstate Sex Offender Task Force
for the purpose of analyzing other states' sex offender registration
and residency laws and how that affects Illinois.
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Senate Bill 3016 adds information to the sex offender registry,
such as the license plate number of every vehicle registered to a
sex offender and any distinguishing body marks.
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 Earlier in the summer, the governor also signed the following
bills that offer increased protection from sex offenders:
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House Bill 4179 prohibits identify theft offenders and sex
offenders from changing their names.
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House Bill 4375 gives the Illinois State Police access to the
information obtained through the Unemployment Insurance Act, which
includes sex offenders' current and former places of employment.
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House Bill 5249 clarifies the current 500-foot rule for child sex
offenders by including child care institutions, day care centers and
part-day child care facilities among the areas where child sex
offenders are not allowed to be within 500 feet.
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Senate Bill 2162 prohibits custody or visitation by the father of
a child if the father is convicted of certain crimes that resulted
in the conception of the child, unless the child's mother or
guardian consents.
The following are Internet safety tips recommended by
NetSmartz,
an online educational tool. The state will provide training for all
school districts, parent groups and nonprofits in Illinois to use
this tool.
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Clear, simple, easy-to-read house rules should be posted on or
near the monitor. Create your own computer rules or print the
Internet safety pledge. The pledge can be signed by adults and
children and should be periodically reviewed.
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Look into safeguarding programs or options your online service
provider might offer. These may include monitoring or filtering
capabilities.
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Always read a website's privacy policy before giving any personal
information. Also make sure that a website offers a secure
connection before giving credit card information.
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Websites for children are not permitted to request personal
information without a parent's permission. Talk to children about
what qualifies as personal information and why you should never give
it to people online.
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If children use chat or e-mail, talk to them about never meeting
in person with anyone they first "met" online.
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Talk to children about not responding to offensive or dangerous
e-mail, chat, or other communications. Report any such communication
to local law enforcement. Do not delete the offensive or dangerous
e-mail; turn off the monitor, and contact local law enforcement.
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Keep the computer in the family room or another open area of your
home.
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Let children show you what they can do online. Visit their
favorite sites.
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Have children use child-friendly search engines when completing
homework.
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Know who children are exchanging e-mail with, and only let them
use chat areas when you can supervise. NetSmartz recommends limiting
chat room access to child-friendly chat sites.
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Be aware of any other computers your child may be using.
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Internet accounts should be in a parent's name, with parents
having the primary screen name, controlling passwords, and using
blocking or filtering devices.
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Children should not complete a profile for a service provider,
and children's screen names should be nondescript so as not to
identify that the user is a child.
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Talk to children about what to do if they see something that
makes them feel scared, uncomfortable or confused. Show them how to
turn off the monitor and emphasize that it's not their fault if they
see something upsetting. Remind children to tell a trusted adult if
they see something online that bothers them.
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Consider using filtering or monitoring software for your
computer. Filtering products that use white-listing, which allows a
child access only to a preapproved list of sites, are recommended
for children in this age group. NetSmartz does not advocate using
filters only; education is a key part of prevention. Visit the
resources section for websites that provide information on filtering
or blocking software.
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If you suspect online "stalking" or sexual exploitation of a
child, report it to your local law enforcement agency. The National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children has a system for
identifying online predators and child pornographers and
contributing to law enforcement investigations. It's called the
CyberTipline. Leads forwarded to the site will be acknowledged and
shared with the appropriate law enforcement agency for
investigation.
As the result of her mother's alert intervention, an Illinois
teenager barely avoided being victimized by a 19-year-old Texas
college student she met online. When confronted by the mother, who
demanded to know whom her daughter was talking to on the telephone,
the suspect identified himself as a police officer and advised her
that the suspect (himself) had been killed in an automobile crash
and that her daughter's help was needed in Texas to identify the
body. Unsuccessful in his attempt to lure the Illinois teenager, the
man turned to a 20-year-old Canadian and her 4-year-old-child, whose
images he broadcast live via a webcam. The perpetrator asked viewers
whether he should rape the woman, kill her, or kill both the mother
and child. A friend saw the broadcast and reported it to police, who
rescued the woman and toddler.
It is incidents such as those that the new Internet Crimes Unit
is meant to prevent. And, the public can help by taking some basic
precautions, such as those outlined by NetSmartz, and now by
reporting suspicious online behavior to the Internet Crimes Unit.
[News release from the governor's
office]
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