Colorado has no law against using the Internet to solicit sex from minors, which means police can't arrest a predator until he actually tries to meet his intended victim in person. But if state attorney general John Suthers has his way, the state will have one by the end of next year.
"Law enforcement has been hamstrung by weak laws and roadblocks," Suthers said May 25, announcing what he called a Safe Surfing Initiative. "Incredibly, Colorado's Internet safety laws allow only for civil monetary damages against a person who solicits a child through the Internet."
Suthers said he would push a legislative package including bills to criminalize using the Net to solicit children for sex, making large child porn possession a felony, and giving law enforcement the power to subpoena identifying information from Internet service providers.
Two state lawmakers – Sen. Paula Sandoval (D-Denver) and Rep. Bob McCluskey (R-Larimer) – vowed to sponsor the package in the state legislature.
“Although today’s kids are savvy Internet users, many do not realize that each time they access the Internet, they are leaving an electronic footprint that can be traced by online predators,” Suthers said at his annoucement. “This initiative will help make Internet safety a statewide concern and give parents and teachers the tools to prevent children from becoming victims.”
The Safe Surfing Initiative partners Suthers' office with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Colorado Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs, and the Colorado Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Suthers said he plans to spend the summer traveling the state to host educational seminars on dangers children face in cyberspace, using the NCMEC's NetSmartz program in the presentations.
An NCMEC survey released earlier this week indicated 30 percent of parents polled didn't know whether their children spent time in Internet chat rooms or instant messaging programs, and almost half never reviewed the content of their children's chats.
