Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois Douglas J. Quivey, Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly and Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright, announced initiatives the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is utilizing to protect children from online predators. As part of his ongoing efforts to investigate and prosecute cases of child pornography and exploitation, Attorney General Raoul announced the ICAC Task Force, managed by the Attorney General’s office, will offer a series of webinars to help families ensure children are safe online. In addition, Raoul unveiled a new mobile forensic unit that will provide critical support to law enforcement conducting child pornography investigations in communities throughout the state.

The online safety webinars will teach parents about the apps children and teens may be using; how to help youth navigate aggressive online behavior, both as a victim and perpetrator; how to help children foster healthy online interactions; and how to identify signs that a child or student may have been a victim of online child solicitation. The series will begin Oct. 7, and webinars will take place at 6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. Interested parties should email karilyn.orr@ilag.gov to register. To report suspected online child sexual exploitation, please contact local law enforcement or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline at 1-800-THE-LOST. To schedule a live webinar session, please email karilyn.orr@ilag.gov.