Cox High School, Virginia Beach – OAG Taskforce Meeting
Minutes - Tuesday, October 17, 2006
______________________________________________________
The Task Force met at Cox High School in Virginia Beach for its third meeting. The school provided its library for this meeting.
Task Force members were seated in the center of the room at U-shaped tables while guests and members of the press and public sat or stood in peripheral areas of the room.
At 10:10 a.m., the meeting was called to order by Deputy Attorney General Richard B. Campbell who served as moderator. Principal Dr. Brian K. Matney then welcomed the Task Force to the school. Following this, members of the Task Force introduced themselves. Attorney General Bob McDonnell then addressed the group briefly.
During the public comment segment, Miss Virginia Adrianna Sgarlata spoke to the group about cyber-bullying and other youth Internet safety issues, including coercion of suicide, displaying a quilt with nine panels containing the names of such victims.
At 10:35 a.m., the Detectives Mike Encarnacao and Lisa Krisik of the Virginia Beach Police Department gave a presentation demonstrating the prevalence of sexual predators online.
At 11:30 a.m., the group broke into the three predetermined working groups: law enforcement; technology partners; and parents and educators.
Elizabeth Banker, Associate General Counsel Yahoo! |
Bob Stolle, Executive Director, Greater Richmond Technology Council |
Kim White, Commonwealth’s Attorney, Halifax |
John Brownlee, United States Attorney |
Sally Boese, Va. Assn. of Indep. Schools |
Honorable Robert Hurt, Member, House of Delegates |
Charles D. Curran Chief Counsel, Policy & Regulatory, America Online |
John Ryan, Vice President and Chief Counsel, America Online/Time-Warner |
Elizabeth A. Bresee, Vice President, Capital One |
Rick Lally, President, Hampton Roads Technology Council |
Mr. John Titus, Principal, James River High School |
Chief Monroe, City of Richmond |
Rick Lane, Myspace.com |
Ray LaMura, President VCTA |
Liz Eraker, Google |
Virginia James, teacher |
Carter Slough, student |
Tommy Quigley, student |
Rosemary Trible, concerned citizen |
David Foster., Arlington School Board |
Donna Rice-Hughes, Enough is Enough |
Diane Florence, Virginia PTA President |
Kenneth and Rosemary Booth |
William Pusey |
Dr. Steve Shelby |
Joel Wiginton, Sony |
Honorable Ryan T. McDougle |
FBI: Lawrence J. Berry for Robert Gwaltney |
State Police: Lt. Col. Terry Bowes for. Col. Flaherty |
Microsoft: Richard LaMagna for Anne Gavin |
John Jung for Honorable Michael N. Herring |
Lan Neugent for Dr. Billy K. Cannaday |
Shirley Payne for James L. Hilton |
Law Enforcement Working Group
Staff Attorney – Gene Fishel with Les Lauziere and Jan Myer of OAG staff
Present:
The group began their meeting by approving legislative drafts for Working Group Questions 5 and 6:
5. Virginia Code Section 18.2-374.3 (online solicitation) prohibits the use of a communication system to, among other conduct, solicit a person to engage in conduct prohibited under Virginia Code Section 18.2-370 (Taking Indecent Liberties with Children). Should 18.2-374.3 stand on its own by listing the proscribed conduct instead of cross-referencing the indecent liberties statute and in doing so, should the age of the victim be raised above the current age of 14?
6. What is the feasibility of creating a specialized unit within the Attorney General's Office, which would work in conjunction with the Virginia State Police, whose sole mission is to ensure compliance from child sexual predators with Virginia's Sex Offender Registry?
The working group then discussed Virginia Code § 18.2‑374.1. There currently exists a presumption under the possession of child pornography statute that a person who appears to be under 18 is presumed to be under 18. This presumption is not included in the production and distribution of child pornography statute, 18.2-374.1. Such a change in Code § 18.2-374.1:1 would relieve prosecutors of the burden of proving the age of victims who are obviously under 18.
The group then discussed the statute dealing with online solicitation of a minor and recommended an increased penalty for victims under the age of 15. Currently, this statute does not protect children 15 or over. Should a subsection be added to protect 15‑18 year-olds? The group recommended altering the law so that there can be no suspension on minimum sentences. Potential problems could arise in a situation where two college students differ in age such as 21 and 17 and the elder could be charged with a felony. The group came to an agreement that there should be a five year age difference between the offender and the victim.
Changes to the production and distribution of child pornography statute were also discussed. The group agreed that mandatory minimum punishments were needed for production of child pornography as well as distribution of child pornography under 18.2-374.1. A suggestion was made to create levels of punishment based on the age of the victim. Drafts will be created prior to the next meeting.
The discussion turned to bringing Virginia law into line with federal law: 15 years for production; 5 for distribution. The Attorney General suggested that the group consult the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission to obtain preliminary numbers on the fiscal impact such changes will have on the Department of Corrections.
The group then discussed the lack of law enforcement resources for forensic analysis because of the shortage of computer forensic technicians. A regional lab could be a solution to bring all resources together in one location, potentially federally-funded. Colleges could be hub for regional lab. Possibly expand state police facility. Costs were discussed and it was determined that a meeting between the Attorney General's Office and the Virginia State Police was necessary prior to the next meeting.
Finally, the group agreed that violations of 18.2-374.1 (Production and Distribution of Child Pornography) should be included as a presumption of no bond offense under the admittance to bail statute under 19.2-120. A draft of such an amendment will be prepared prior to next meeting.
Technology Working Group
Staff Attorney – Rusty McGuire with Erika Fischer and Holly Cuellar of OAG staff
Present:
The break out session began at 11:30 a.m. Rusty McGuire facilitated the meeting.
Christopher Bubb, President of the United States Internet Providers Association (USISPA) presented to the group on alternatives to data retention including:
Bubb also pointed out that federal law currently requires public ISPs to report child pornography found on their network to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Discussion on Law Enforcement angle.
Government and Regional ISP perspective
ODU/ CNU
Small Business
Parents and Educators Working Group
Staff Attorney – Matthew Nelson with Donna Creekmore of OAG staff
Present:
Representatives from Paladin Pictures spoke and advised they have contacted the Attorney General concerning their interest in the creation of Internet safety videos for distribution to students and parents.
Donna Rice Hughes gave a presentation for Enough is Enough. Enough is Enough has been in existence since 1994 and works with the Department of Justice. Their mission is to make the Internet safer for children and families. They believe there is a three-pronged solution: through the public, through the technology industry, and through the legal community (law enforcement and public policy). A major problem is that many parents do not know as much as their children about the Internet. EiE’s Pornography 101 teaches how pornography and predators work. One statistic given was that 43% of overall solicitations made over the Internet are by juveniles. Age verification is a major hurdle.
The Division of Technology & Human Resources, Department of Education, has developed a publication entitled Guidelines and Resources for Internet Safety in Schools and has been distributed to all school superintendents in Virginia. The group discussed whether or not all schools and libraries are monitoring and filtering Internet use.
Question: What method should school divisions use to teach Internet safety and should a single method be uniform throughout Virginia?
Recommendation: Local school divisions should develop their own methods of teaching Internet safety within the guidelines established by the Virginia Department of Education.
Vote: No opposition. Recommendation passed and will be passed on to the Youth Internet Safety Task Force as a whole.
Question: What is the best way to increase awareness of parents and children to the dangers Internet use may pose to children from online criminals?
Discussion about how to develop a program that challenges middle and high school students to produce PSAs and short films (15 to 30 min.) to increase peer awareness as students have a larger impact on each other. Suggestions were to have a contest creating PSAs. The Department of Education would provide assistance if needed. It was also suggested that private schools be included. Students could even produce the PSAs themselves since they have the technology to do so. Students who had experienced unfortunate encounters could relate their story. Possibility of interviewing convicted predators so they could reveal how they found their victims. A reward for the best PSA and short film could be established. The PSA and short film would be professionally produced and include testimonials by Internet predators. Education of the parents is equally important. The task force would need to develop guidelines and a format for the PSAs and videos. It was also suggested that pornography should be addressed in the PSAs and videos.
Combined Technology and Parent/Educators Work Group
The two groups met so that each could be advised of what the other is doing and to interact with each other.
Presentations were made on behalf of AOL, Google, Microsoft, MySpace and Yahoo outlining what tools or approaches each have developed or will be developing to ensure safe Internet use for children, teens and families. These methods would include controlling children’s activity online and partnering with safety advocates and law enforcement to enhance safety and security.
Summary of Parents/Educators Working Group – Organize a statewide contest for students to get involved in developing PSAs and short 15-30 minutes films for students and parents. Because students are more likely to listen to what other students have to say, situations involving real students would be valuable. Funding and a reward system also have to be considered.
Summary of Technology Partners Working Group - Data retention and concepts as to how technology companies can better assist law enforcement was discussed. A presentation was given by the United States Internet Service Providers Association. The Technology Partners group is also reviewing laws to make it easier for law enforcement to obtain data from technology companies. The group voted to recommend federal legislation to change wire intercept laws. The group also addressed the issue of age verification in an attempt to devise a reliable system for determining whether the user underage. They will be reviewing five statutes at the next meeting to make the process smoother.
Age verification was discussed and whether a third party needed to be involved. Identity verification is important because in order to verify age, you have to verify identity.
A question was raised as to whether a catalog of resources currently available from the ISPs and technology companies would be put together. Attorney General McDonnell had asked that the group come up with an inventory of resources already in existence. The ISP presentations would be the start of such an inventory. The idea is to eventually publish an inventory on the Attorney General’s website. The Department of Education’s publication is also an excellent resource.
The question was raised as to whether the ISPs felt it was their responsibility to monitor Internet addresses as some addresses are designed to intentionally take the user to undesirable sites.
There was discussion about the possibility of schools mandating certain information be provided to parents; e.g. before a school laptop is issued, a parent has to sign a contract delineating the restrictions on its use. Parents are the first line of defense and need to be more involved and aware of where their children and teens are going on the Internet. Unfortunately, many parents are not as technologically savvy as their children. Many parents just do not know how dangerous the Internet can be nor how predators operate and how easily it is for them to get into their homes via the Internet.
Ginny James has submitted a grant proposal for a video to be produced by Cox High School students to be viewed by elementary and middle schools that feed into Cox High School. The presentations would be age-appropriate. MySpace may be able to help. The Cable Association may also be willing to help.
Copies of the PowerPoint presentations by the ISPs will be distributed.
The next meeting will be November 16, 2006, in Roanoke, location to be announced at a later date.