(Caption for Photo: State Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-Bridgeville, shown here during a press conference in November 2021 in South Fayette, is sponsoring a bill that would expand the investigation and prosecution of internet crimes against children. Credit for Photo: Courtesy of Nate Guidry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette))

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) Legislation to improve the ability of the state of Pennsylvania to investigate and prosecute internet crimes against children was unanimously approved this week by the General Assembly, according to the bill’s Senate sponsor, Senator Devlin Robinson (R-37).

This bill authorizes up to $5 million to be used annually for grants to support the program. 

House Bill 1098, which is sponsored by Representative Jason Ortitay (R-46), would provide critical resources to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors who are working to protect children from online exploitation and abuse by expanding the Investigation and Prosecution of Internet Crimes Against Children Program within the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). 

This bill is designated as “Alicia’s Law,” which is in honor of Alicia Kozak (Kozakiewicz), a Pittsburgh-area resident who was abducted, sexually assaulted, and tortured at the age of 13 by a man that she met online in what is recognized as first known internet-facilitated child abduction cases in the nation.