SB 118-ONLINE ENTICEMENT OF MINOR  8:41:05 AM SENATOR FRENCH introduced SB 118 advising it will make online enticement of minors a felony under Alaska law. Along with SB 119, the measure will help protect Alaska's children from sexual predators and provide a safety net for those who navigate the Internet. Online victimization is one of the worst byproducts of the age of the Internet. Research shows that one in five children have received solicitation over the Internet in the last year. While current statutes can be stretched to allow prosecution of online solicitation, the better approach is to recognize that this new form of criminality requires a new statute. 8:42:26 AM SENATOR FRENCH added the basic outline of SB 118 is to make it a crime for anyone 18 years or older to knowingly use a computer to entice, solicit or encourage a child to engage in an act described in AS 11.41.455. 8:44:49 AM MR. KEVIN VANDEGRIFF, detective, Anchorage Police Department (APD), testified he has worked for three years in the Crimes Against Children unit of the APD. Alaska does not have legislation to address Internet solicitation of children. Statistics show crimes against children are growing every year. Reports of child pornography have grown 40 percent between 2003 and 2004. SB 118 allows law enforcement to act proactively and seek out child predators. Federal statistics show 55 percent of prosecutions from online victimization of children occur with reports coming from outside complainants. 45 percent of arrests are directly related to proactive law enforcement efforts. Efforts include law enforcement going online in an undercover capacity, entering chat rooms and meeting with predators. The Internet Crimes Against Children federal task forces train investigators across the country, including the FBI, Immigration and Customs, and state investigators. MR. VANDEGRIFF advised the committee of his recent training, which certifies investigators to conduct standard investigations that will pass judicial scrutiny across jurisdictional boundaries. 8:48:45 AM MR. VANDEGRIFF noted due to excellent training, online enticement prosecutions across the country have resulted in a 95 percent conviction rate. The reason for the success is the abundance of evidence due to the online trail that predators leave. Search warrants conducted in predators homes show over 60 percent of them have large collections of child pornography stored on their computers. Sexual predators use the Internet to target children. The most vulnerable are between 12 and 15 years of age. MR. VANDEGRIFF described the Internet "chats" between sexual predators and children as chilling. Predators use psychological tactics to entice emotionally vulnerable children. 8:51:47 AM CHAIR SEEKINS asked Mr. Vandegriff to give the committee comparative numbers between Alaska's high incidence of sexual child abuse compared to other states. MR. VANDEGRIFF did not have statistics but would research for the committee. CHAIR SEEKINS asked Mr. Vandegriff where the sexual abuse comes from in the cases he has worked on. MR. VANDEGRIFF responded the majority are people known to the family members. 8:52:56 AM CHAIR SEEKINS asked if Internet sexual abuse of minors' incidences is rising. MR. VANDEGRIFF replied yes. Currently only federal statutes address those crimes. The federal government is limited in the number of cases they can prosecute due to the overwhelming number of them. It is a growing problem, but because children usually don't report the incidences to adults, the problem is larger than one can tell. Studies show only 10 percent of solicited children tell their parents. 8:53:59 AM CHAIR SEEKINS asked Mr. Vandegriff to describe any anticipated increase in workload. MR. VANDEGRIFF informed the committee the workload would increase. The Anchorage Police Department does not have the manpower to address the growing problem. Currently, educating parents to restrict their children's Internet use is a priority. MR. VANDEGRIFF spoke of training with the national Crimes Against Children task force. As part of the training, officers assume the identity of a 13-year-old female and enter online chat rooms. He spent time in an Alaskan chat room and within 10 minutes was solicited for sex. 8:56:46 AM SENATOR HUGGINS asked Mr. Vandegriff if he was concerned about getting evidence into court. MR. VANDEGRIFF answered no. Predators leave a compelling evidentiary trail. Investigators are well trained and follow strict protocol. 8:58:03 AM SENATOR HUGGINS asked if pursuit of suspects is done under federal statutes. MR. VANDEGRIFF answered that Alaska has state pornography laws but no way to prosecute offenders who send unsolicited sexual pictures to children. CHAIR SEEKINS announced a brief recess at 8:59:29 AM. CHAIR SEEKINS called the meeting back to order at 9:03:24 AM. MS. ANNE CARPENETI, Department of Law (DOL), offered to answer questions. CHAIR SEEKINS advised Ms. Carpeneti that testimony shows Alaska does not have enough manpower to investigate and prosecute the crimes that would fall under SB 118. The fiscal notes are all zero and indicate the DOL does not anticipate fiscal impact. Proper procedure. MS. CARPENETI said the conduct prohibited in SB 118 is also prohibited in other portions of the criminal code, which is why the DOL does not anticipate additional cases. The DOL is concerned with the overlap of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree (SAM), which prohibits enticing or encouraging sexual penetration with a minor. The main offense with SAM anticipates the actual penetration occurred and that is an unclassified felony. Solicitation for that behavior is a class A felony, It is the same conduct as defined in SB 118, which identifies it as a class C felony. That is problematic because the defendant can choose to be prosecuted under the lesser felony. 9:06:38 AM CHAIR SEEKINS offered it was not intent of sponsor. MS. CARPENETI said SB 118 covers conduct that is already against the law. CHAIR SEEKINS asked Ms. Carpeneti how the DOL would amend SB 118. MS. CARPENETI said she had no solution yet. SENATOR FRENCH offered to work with the DOL to amend SB 118 to fit within the statutes. He asked Ms. Carpeneti if the DOL has prosecuted online probation under the attempt portion of SAM 1. MS. CARPENETI answered she believed so. CHAIR SEEKINS clarified SAM stands for sex abuse of minor and there are several degrees in Alaska statutes. 9:08:25 AM CHAIR SEEKINS asked Ms. Carpeneti the difference between sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor. MS. CARPENETI replied that sexual assault covers non-consensual sex. Sexual abuse of a minor is perceived as consensual because the victim is too young to be expected to make the decision. CHAIR SEEKINS asked Ms. Carpeneti to work with the sponsor to strengthen SB 118.