In 2002, at the age of 13, Alicia Kozakiewicz became the first known victim of an Internet luring and child abduction that received widespread media attention. Kozakiewicz had corresponded online with someone she thought to be a girl named "Christine". In reality, "Christine" was actually a 31-year-old man named Scott Tyree. Over the course of nearly a year, Tyree groomed the 13-year-old Alicia, before eventually kidnapping and trapping her in his basement dungeon, where he abused her while broadcasting everything on a live internet stream. Alicia miraculously survived thanks to an anonymous online tip that allowed law enforcement officials to track down Tyree's IP address and rescue Alicia.

In the years since, Alicia has become one of the most influential advocates for improved internet safety for children. She has been featured on a multitude of media outlets, and travels the country speaking to schools and pushing for improved legislation.

In this episode, Alicia will be joining our host, Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly, where they will discuss the issues surrounding internet safety for children with several other expert guests, including Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

Intro and outro narrated by Bill Kurtis.

Original theme music composed by David Huizenga.

For more information about Alicia's efforts to educate children and parents about internet safety and advance legislation to help, visit her website at aliciakozak.com. Her new book "The Internet Safety Guidebook: Protecting Kids in the Digital Age" was released in February, 2025 and is available now.