Pennsylvania seeks to strengthen prosecution of internet crimes against children

Kris B. Mamula, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Oct 22, 2026

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The Pennsylvania General Assembly has unanimously approved legislation that improves the state’s ability to investigate and prosecute internet crimes against children, sponsors of the bill said Wednesday.

House Bill 1098, sponsored by Rep. Jason Ortitay, a Republican from Cecil, would expand the investigation and prosecution of internet crimes against children by the state Commission on Crime and Delinquency by enabling specialized task force training and authorizing up to $5 million in grants annually to support the program.

“As more and more children have access to the internet at a young age, the predators we once worried about on our streets are now sitting behind computers and smartphones interacting with innocent children,” state Sen. Devlin Robinson, a Republican from Bridgeville, sponsor of companion Senate Bill 1335, said in a prepared statement.

In recent years, predators have used a variety of digital platforms, including Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram, to reach minors. Some of the schemes involve sexting, where a minor is lured into providing compromising pictures of themselves, which are then used to blackmail the victim through the threat of public exposure.

Pittsburgh Public Schools is among dozens of districts around the country that are pursuing lawsuits against social media giants for alleged psychological harm to students from overuse of the platforms. The lawsuits are being heard in multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland.

The bill was designed as Alicia’s Law in honor of Alicia Kozak, who was abducted at age 13 in 2002 from her Crafton Heights home by a man she met online. Scott W. Tyree, 38, a computer programmer, kept her at his Herndon, Virginia, townhouse until she was rescued by the FBI Jan. 4, 2002, three days after her abduction.

Tyree was later sentenced to 19 years, seven months in federal prison.

“Twenty-four years ago, when I was 13, a man drove to Pittsburgh and kidnapped me from my home,” Kozak said in a prepared statement. “He held me captive and livestreamed the abuse. My rescue felt like a miracle, but no child’s safety should depend on a miracle.”

Under the bill, which has been sent to the governor’s desk, the state Commission on Crime and Delinquency could award grants to support specialized task forces that would be focused on prosecuting internet-based crimes against minors. The legislation would allow state funding to supplement existing federal Internet Crimes Against Children funding.

If signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania would join 13 other states in enacting Alicia’s Law.

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