February 12. 2008

DuPage County, IL….Because computers are such a prevalent tool for sexual predators to victimize unsuspecting young adults, House Republican members today introduced new legislation that will prevent predator access to social networking sites and strengthen laws against child pornography.

“Teens post their personal information on the web everyday and they don’t realize that not only are their friends reading their personal information, but so are adult predators,” said House Republican Leader Tom Cross. “House Republicans were proactive on this issue last year and we passed landmark protections for our children. Attorneys General from around the country recently got involved and formed a task force to study the issue. Today we are proposing legislation to make the Internet a safer place.”

It is difficult for a young person using these websites to know whether the person they are chatting with is really who they say they are. Just this past July, MySpace found and deleted 29,000 profiles belonging to registered sex offenders – including 1558 registered sex offenders from Illinois.

State Rep. Dennis Reboletti (R-Elmhurst) said it is important Illinois continues to be proactive in introducing new measures that can reduce the growing number of online related sex crimes.

“The cornerstone of our package will require owners of social networking sites to obtain written permission from parents or guardians before their minor child can post a profile on the site. The parents would have unlimited access to their child’s webpage,” said Reboletti. “The webpage owners would also be required to put procedures in place to verify age and personal information submitted by teens and their parents.”

Other elements of the new online safety package include legislation:

• Banning sex offenders from social networking sites.

• Enhancing child pornography offenses to a Super-Class X felony (9 to 40 years in prison) for multiple images and increasing penalties for child pornography films and videos.

• Making it a Class X, 1 or 2 felony for an offender to misrepresent his or her age in juvenile solicitation cases.

• Strengthening current laws under the title of indecent solicitation of an adult to include crimes committed through the Internet.

State Representative Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) is introducing another piece of legislation that will require electronic and technology equipment workers to report any cases of child pornography to local law enforcement agencies. Any employee that reports child pornography will then be immune from any criminal, civil, or administrative liability in connection with making the report.

“In an effort to rid cyberspace of harmful images that predators accumulate, there has to be some responsibility and accountability on the part of those employees who might come across illegal child pornography,” Durkin said. “If we ask for that responsibility, it is important those people are protected by law against lawsuits against them for their actions.”

“Children today are increasingly using the Internet, instant messaging, and text messaging to communicate with their peers,” said State Representative Ruth Munson (R-Elgin). “They are using social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook to meet people online who they really don’t know. Our legislative package will help provide law enforcement with tools to protect our kids.”

State Representatives Bob Biggins (R-Elmhurst) and Jim Meyer (R-Naperville) also attended the press conference to show their support for the legislation and will help push for its approval in Springfield this spring.

Local prosecutors, law enforcement officials, and community leaders also attended the press conference to stress the need for stricter Internet protections.

“This proposed legislation will go a long way in protecting an increasingly technology-savvy youth who know their way around a computer but may still be a little naïve and trusting of those they meet on the Internet. I would like to thank Leader Cross, Representatives Dennis Reboletti, Jim Durkin, Jim Meyer, Bob Biggins, and Ruth Munson for their support of this extremely important legislation. I look forward to working with the Legislature to ensure that our children do not fall victim to these Internet sexual predators,” said DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett.

This is the second package of online safety proposals introduced by the House Republicans. Last year House Republicans spearheaded passage of new laws that make it illegal for adults to engage in sexually explicit dialogue with minors online and to allow for the real-time interception of child pornography being transmitted over the Internet.

These new laws were the result of online safety hearings held in various communities around the state. The hearings allowed parents and law enforcement agencies to give their ideas and feedback concerning crimes related to social networking sites.
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