State Police Praise Passage Of New ‘Alicia’s Law’ In Illinois

Illinois State Police are voicing their support of a new law in the state.

Illinois has been taking steps lately to help protect kids online. For example, becoming one of the first states to have a kidfluencer law.

That Legislation: Historic "Child Influencers" Law Starts July 1st In Illinois

Now, a release from Illinois State Police supports that passage of the state's new Alicia's Law, saying it will help fight internet crimes against children.

The Story Of Alicia “Kozak” Kozakiewicz

Alicia was kidnapped when she was 13 years old. In 2001, she had started talking to an online predator who groomed her for 9 months using flattery, before abducting her. It was the first widely-reported internet-related child abduction case. Alicia was raped and tortured for 4 days. She was rescued by the FBI just hours before she believed her abductor was going to kill her.

She told PEOPLE:

I had been given this second chance, and I wasn't going to waste it. I felt that I had been rescued and I had to give back. And so I started speaking out in schools, and sharing my story with kids.

Alicia's Law, according to ISP, " ensures the State of Illinois will devote resources and support ISP’s continued investigation of internet crimes against children, making the investigations a permanent function of ISP that will be sustained over time with consistent resource".

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Alicia is now a speaker and shares her story with kids to warn them about predators lurking online.

She said her best tip for parents to protect their kids is to make sure their kids know they can tell their parents anything.