Concho Valley News

On Jan. 1, 2002, Alicia “Kozak” Kozakiewicz became the first known victim of child abduction by an online predator when she was abducted outside of her Pittsburgh home by a 38-year old man she had met online at the age of 13. 

“I was chatting with someone online who I thought was my age who was my friend," Kozak told the Concho Valley Homepage. "This was back in 2001 and 2002 and the internet was very new. There were no safety seminars, no PSAs, nothing to say how dangerous it really was. Sometimes people look at my situation where they are now and say, ‘How could she not have known? How could her family not have known?’… we didn’t.”

Kozak was chained by her neck in the man's home and sexually assaulted, with it being streamed on the internet. Someone who had seen the stream sent a tip to the FBI, which then led to them rescuing her four days later. 

“It was a miracle. Children in my situation, children in stranger abductions, are so rarely recovered safety. That was a gift and I felt I had this information and this ability, this duty if you will, to save other children and I was given this gift and I needed to share it,” Kozak said. “I learned at a very young age that there is so much evil in this world. There are truly heinous things that happen to people that are done by other people. But, there is so much more good and good has to be louder, good has to stand up, good has to shine a light into that darkness and say ‘I’m going to fight for these children."

Kozak urges parents to speak to their children about safety, because they play a vital role in keeping their kids safe. Being able to look at your child's phone and know their passwords can help parents prevent their children from interacting in harmful online conversation or relationships. 

“There are a lot of ‘what ifs’ out there. I can tell you ‘what is.’ It is happening in your community,” Kozak said.

Instead of focusing on the fear, she focuses on the positive things that can be done in her position to help families and others stay safe. 

“Communication, education, and effective legislation. Those are three things I’ve always really focused on,” Kozak said.

Alicia's Law was passed in 12 states, including Texas, in 2011. This law puts $3 million into law enforcement to go toward investigating Internent Crimes Against Children. 

“Due to a lack of dedicated federal resources, less than two percent of known child exploitation cases are being investigated. Alicia’s Law provides a dedicated steady stream of state-specific funding to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces," Alicia's Law's website states. 

Kozak's website also offers communication resources and safety information for internet communication for families needing additional help.