News Release - Attorney General McCollum Opens Orlando Branch of Newly Expanded CyberCrime Unit

Enter search here

Attorney General Bill McCollum News Release

October 15, 2007

Media Contact: Sandi Copes
Phone: (850) 245-0150

Attorney General McCollum Opens Orlando Branch of Newly Expanded CyberCrime Unit

~ Office location is the second of seven opening statewide~

ORLANDO, FL – As part of an ongoing mission to combat the startling escalation of cybercrimes against children, Attorney General Bill McCollum today hosted the grand opening of the Orlando branch of the newly expanded Child Predator CyberCrime Unit. The office opening comes on the heels of the opening of the unit’s headquarters in Jacksonville earlier this month. The Attorney General was joined at the opening by members of Central Florida’s law enforcement community and local state legislators.

“This new location is part of our statewide expansion and will make our state one of the most aggressive in the nation for tracking down and locking up online child predators,” said Attorney General McCollum. “With increased law enforcement, stricter laws and a comprehensive statewide education effort, we hope to be a model for other states to follow as the nation moves forward to better protect our children.”

Five additional CyberCrime Units will open in the Tampa, Ft. Myers, Tallahassee, Ft. Lauderdale and Pensacola areas over the next several months. The statewide expansion was the Attorney General’s top budget priority of 2007 and was fully funded at $4.3 million by the Florida Legislature. Originally staffed by 6 people, the unit is expanding to 56 personnel statewide, thus providing essential additional resources to local law enforcement agencies for investigating, arresting and prosecuting internet predators and child pornographers. The Orlando office will house a CyberCrime attorney, three law enforcement officers, a CyberCrime victim advocate and support personnel.

“The need for this increased focus is great, and well-documented,” said Attorney General McCollum. “Current statistics tell us that one in seven children between the ages of 10 and 17 will be sexually solicited online. This is absolutely unacceptable and we will fight for our children with every resource available.”

Originally established in 2005, the unit has been responsible for the arrests of nearly 50 individuals who possessed, created or distributed child pornography or who sexually solicited someone they thought was a child online. Some of these predators then traveled to meet that person, believing they were meeting the “child” to continue the sexual abuse.

On October 1, the CyberCrimes Against Children Act of 2007 went into effect, substantially increasing the penalties for various types of cybercrime. Specific new criminal charges were created to prosecute internet child predators who travel to meet their intended victim for the purpose of further sexually abusing him or her. The Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution frequently assists with the prosecution of predators who cross jurisdictions to meet their intended victims.

The law includes new penalties for “grooming,” a behavior which occurs when internet child predators lie about their age to entice their victims. Florida is currently the only state in the nation with a law specifically targeting grooming. More information on the Attorney General’s cybercrime initiative is available online at http://www.safeflorida.net/safesurf.