Report issued on Internet safety
McDonnell-led panel recommends harsher terms for predators
RT-D, B1
By Mark Bowes
Dec. 21, 2006
Enacting harsher sentences for Internet sexual predators and increasing the public's awareness of their danger were among recommendations released yesterday by a task force headed by Virginia's attorney general.
The Youth Internet Safety Task Force showcased a 100-page report that included 25 specific proposals from law-enforcement officials, technology experts, parents and educators who met during the
McDonnell past six months.
"Well over 50 percent of the nation's Internet traffic goes through Virginia, so it's vitally important to citizens here in Virginia that we keep that tremendous technology expansion going," said Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell during a news conference at the state Capitol.
"But in order to keep that going, you've got to keep [away] the child pornographers and the spammers and the identity thieves ... and all other bad guys that want to undermine this revolution," he added.
The task force's recommendations include:
•Mandatory minimum prison sentences for the online solicitation of children and the production and financing of child pornography. The mandatory minimums should be different for offenses involving victims under the age of 15 and those between 15 and 18. "We're recommending a dramatic increase in the penitentiary sentence for the most serious criminals," McDonnell said.
•Reducing the time required for law enforcement to obtain information from electronic-communication providers. This proposal would cut bureaucratic red tape and allow Virginia law-enforcement officers to forward search warrants directly to out-of-state Internet service providers. In addition, police in other states could send search warrants directly to Internet providers in Virginia.
•Registration of e-mail addresses and other online identities for people on Virginia's Sex Offender Registry. This would allow Virginia authorities to pass such information to social networking sites, such as MySpace, to prevent convicted sex offenders from communicating with minors.
•Expanding Virginia's asset-forfeiture laws to include the seizure of equipment and other property from people convicted of possessing child pornography and soliciting children online.
•Legislation that would prohibit the online solicitation of children between the ages of 15 and 18. Virginia law currently prohibits such behavior for children under 15, but not 15 to 18.
•A statewide media campaign about the dangers of the Internet. Through radio and television spots, billboards, and newspaper and Internet ads, the campaign would increase the awareness of parents and children to the dangers posed by online predators, child pornographers and other criminals.
Yesterday, McDonnell accepted a $100,000 check from America Online for a 2007 public relations campaign. "It will involve the production of written materials, DVDs, public service announcements, training seminars for parents and kids," McDonnell said. "Everywhere parents and kids gather, we want to have a presence there with these materials."
Capital One, based in McLean, also pledged $20,000, and the Entertainment Software Association has agreed to establish a $50,000 pilot program for 50 schools in central Virginia, offering their Internet safety video game through Web Wise Kids.
To view the complete report, go to www.vaag.com/InternetTaskForce/ReportYISTFfinal.pdf.