Numerous Virginia blogs joined Brian's call for sufficient funding for Alicia's Law this week.

750 Volts:

Earlier in the General Assembly session, Delegate Brian Moran (D-Alexandria) sponsored a bill, Alicia’s Law (HB1189), that would have appropriated $32 million towards catching the worst child pornography offenders. Alicia’s Law, named for Alicia Kozkeiwicz, who at the age of 13 was abducted from her home and transported to Herndon, VA, where she was found four days later in the basement of a man who had repeatedly assaulted her while video was streamed online. Virginia already has stiff penalties for child pornography distributors and creators–but penalties are not enough. It takes funding to catch these predators.

Law enforcement knows where they are–they simply don’t have the bodies on the ground to catch them. Over 20,000 computers are estimated to contain child pornography in Virginia, and law enforcement can pinpoint their locations.

HB1189 did not make it out of House Appropriations in time for crossover. However, a budget amendment providing funding for anti-child pornography efforts was attached to the House budget in committee with the help of Delegate Phil Hamilton (R) and a bipartisan coalition. Amendment 397 #2h to the House Budget Bill provides over the next two years $1.25 million to the Southern and Northern Virginia divisions of Internet Crimes against Children, the leading organization fighting this crime. While a far cry from Moran’s original proposals, each dime counts. Law enforcement already knows the location of over 20,000 hard drives containing the worst child pornography, yet lacks the forensic lab space or funding to adequately build their case.

VB Dems, Raising Kaine, Fred2Blue and Not Larry Sabato also cover the story.