Erik Estrada urges funding for real-life Va. cops

[March 04, 2010]  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Erik Estrada played a police officer on television, and now he's asking the Virginia legislature to support investigators who use the Internet to catch sexual predators.

Estrada is best known as "Ponch" on the 1970s motorcycle cop show "CHiPs." He's also a certified member of the Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

He appeared at the state Capitol on Wednesday to urge passage of a bill that would add $10 to every criminal conviction to generate at least $1.8 million a year. The money would help fund the state's two task forces that focus on Internet crimes against children.

Estrada said that if lawmakers saw images of infants being abused like he had, they would make sure investigators had the money to go after predators.

[Associated Press]

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