Protect News Wire

Major Gifts Officer

grierweeks@protect.org (Grier Weeks) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:02:36 GMT

Job Announcement (April, 2012)
Major Gifts Officer

The National Association to Protect Children seeks an experienced fundraising professional to lead our major gifts program.

Responsibilities include planning and management of our leadership giving program; working closely with supporters, consultants and celebrities; special events coordination; and donor database management.

This is a rare opportunity for a professional who wants to make a serious impact on the protection of children from abuse and exploitation. You will be joining our small staff at a crossroads in our growth. While we struggle with the limited resources of a small nonprofit, you will have access to unique assets far exceeding those of comparably sized organizations.

These include:

•    National donor network with very high potential
•    Access to distinguished experts and celebrities who support our work
•    Strong team of colleagues
•    Grassroots membership base
•    Ten-year track record of success
•    Major marketing and communications update, now beginning

The right candidate will have the experience, judgment and drive to harness these resources and help us transition to the next phase of our growth towards strength and independence. This position is being funded with dedicated funds provided by two generous donors.

Salary commensurate with experience. All inquiries will be treated confidentially. Ideally the position will be housed in our Knoxville, TN headquarters office; however, remote or virtual arrangements are possible. No consultant or freelance proposals, please.

Please email resume and cover letter to Jennifer Allen, Administrative Coordinator at jenniferallen@protect.org with "Major Gifts Officer" in the subject line.

The National Association to Protect Children is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit. It has a 501(c)(4) sister organization, PROTECT. Our website is www.protect.org.

Metal Artist Fills Warchest for PROTECT

jonanngledhill@protect.org (JonAnn Gledhill) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:12:11 GMT

PROTECT has never been your grandmother's child advocacy group. From the beginning, we've built wildly diverse army of Protectors from mom to cop and teachers to the "death metal" troops organized by musician BJ Annette. But they all have one thing in common: they've had enough and they'll fight for children. For the last six years, PROTECT Warrior Annette has organized his own music scene to raise funds for PROTECT's lobbying operations. His music events have been entirely independently organized and he has raised over $4,500! If you would like to join BJ in filling our warchest, please see our fundraising guidelines. We thank BJ and all those who have helped out for their amazing work. We asked BJ to tell us more about his "From the Darkness ... Light" concerts and his article is below.

NYDM’S “FROM THE DARKNESS … LIGHT” PROTECT BENEFIT TOUR

My name is BJ Annette, lifetime member of PROTECT. I’m an entertainer in a Metal band and a member of the New York Death Militia (Washington State Chapter), a Heavy Metal music club that helps promote unsigned, underground metal bands. In September of 2010, I flew out to New York for their Annual Gathering, where club members from all over the world come to meet each other and talk about music. My purpose that year was to inform NYDM about PROTECT and how I used the music we know and love to raise money for PROTECT here in Washington by putting on a benefit Metal show every year. I informed them I was able to do this by asking local metal bands to donate their time and music to the cause and asking for donations from local community businesses to raffle off at the show, raising more money, and letting them know that all proceeds made would go to PROTECT. I asked my club to help me out with this endeavor by putting on their own PROTECT Benefit shows in their respective communities and got a unanimous “YES!!” In that following year, NYDM put on shows from Seattle to Rhode Island and raised thousands of dollars. As a gesture of thanks, the communities, bands and sponsors are listed below. Thank you to everyone, the bands, sponsors and Metal Fans who came out and helped save children through the music we love, admire and cherish. Thank you to PROTECT for simply being.

NYDM PROTECT Benefits All Proceeds go to PROTECT	NYDM: Washington State Chapter Held at “M” in Seattle, WA Featuring: Gravenloch Drakul Progenitor Jack Havoc Future Disorder Blood and Thunder American Wrecking Co. Sponsors: The “M” NYDM: Canada Chapter Mark Rabold Leona Day/Kinderswimmers Albertson’s

NYDM: Los Angeles Chapter Que's Bar 8921 Valley Blvd. Rosemead, CA LADM & WORLD BLACKEND PRESENT Autocracy Diminished Tazumal Insecticide Enthraller From The Vomit	NYDM: New York Rockland County Chapter Featuring: Blood Feast Undivided Robot Slaves Neon Nights Ominous J Bux Sponsors: Jack Daniels Metal Blade Records Rockland Music Center Dean Guitars Tattoo Tony Jesse Omega's Jesse's Girls

NYDM: Rhode Island Chapter KC's Tap 530 Broadway Pawtucket, RI Featuring: Purgatory - A Tribute to Iron Maiden Goreality Untombed Closed Casket A Constant Battle Betrayed by Prophecy Sponsors/Donations: Wicked Ink 194 Reservoir Ave. Lincoln RI, 02915 401-475-2777 David Thompson's Burnt Offerings Dr Rev - Bloodpainter Sin of Angels Violent History Gut Bucket Godless Rising Marchetti's Restaurant 1463 Park Avenue Cranston, RI 02920 401-943-7649 Nino's Pizza 500 Atwood Ave Cranston, RI 401-942-3137 Governor Francis Inn 1251 Warwick Ave Warwick, RI 401-463-8227 First Place Sports 87 Airport Rd Warwick, RI Nokturnel Eclipse http://www.etsy.com/shop/NokturnelEclipse www.SinfulNightwear.com Sugar Mama's Sweets and Treats 2045 Smith Street North Providence, RI 02911 Universal Mama Crochet UniversalMamaCrochet@gmail.com Photographer:Lisa Gourley http://WWW.LISAGOURLEY.COM/ Vital Remains Earache Records http://www.earache.com/index2.html	NYDM: Oklahoma Chapter Venue: The Conservatory Featuring: Enfuneration (Club Band) Indeed Sir (Club Band) Dark Arsenal (Club Band) Noosebound (Club Band) Ritual Bludgeoning (Local Band) Chronicles of Mayhem (Local Band) Severed by Sin (Local Band) Asura (Arkansa Regional Band) Klause (Texas Regional Band) Sponsors: Big Papa Productions OKDM Donations were contributed from many record stores, tattoo shops, music stores, and others for raffles

What's Your Offset?

grierweeks@protect.org (Grier Weeks) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:35:36 GMT

Attention PROTECT researchers... Here are President Obama's proposed budgets for the Department of Justice and the Department of Commerce in 2013.

Proposed Department of Justice Budget (PDF)

Proposed Department of Commerce Budget (PDF)

Or access the html web version here

And here's how you can help make sure they protect children!

The President proposes deep cuts to Child Rescue
On page 807 of the President's Department of Justice budget, the Administration proposes to cut the poorly funded Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) program from $30 million a year to $22 million, a catastrophic cut of 27% (see at right).

The ICAC program is the backbone of America's capacity to fight child sexual exploitation. Funding cuts will directly result in fewer predatory criminals being arrested... and more American children being raped, abused and sexually exploited.

ABOVE: Actual Excerpt from President's FY 13
Budget, p. 807. Although it says, "An additional $67,000,000 is requested..." this is not actually additional money. The Missing and Exploited Children Program was funded at $70,000,000 in the last year of the Bush Administration.

Help us find $38 million!
We're not just fighting to stop $22 million in cuts... we are fighting for full funding for the ICAC program under the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008. That's $60 million, or $38 million more than the President's budget proposes.

What would you cut?
Protecting children from sexual predators should be everyone's priority. But it's not. So, when PROTECT demands increases instead of cuts, Members of Congress will ask the classic question, "What's your offset?" In other words, they want to know exactly what we propose to cut, or where the $38 million we want will come from in the budget.

Offsets must come from within the same budget. In this case, that's the "Commerce, Justice, Science" (or "CJS") budget. The best offsets would be from within the Justice budget. But the Commerce budget is fair game too. (We have omitted the Science part of the CJS budget, because that's a harder case to make.)

So we need your help. How many items can you find in these two budgets that would be ideal candidates to cut? What would your offsets be?

Please share your ideas. They could be our best ammunition
We need your help combing through these budgets. Look for anything you think would make a great example of upside down priorities or a big budget item that could be trimmed.

Let us know what you find at by emailing info@protect.org or share it on our Facebook page.

And YES... you really can make a difference here. We need all hands on deck!

Rescue Results

jonanngledhill@protect.org (JonAnn Gledhill) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:47:33 GMT

We measure the impact of our Child Rescue program two ways: child predators arrested and children rescued. The following charts provide hard evidence that your support of the National Association to Protect Children and PROTECT is working. They also show the urgent need for our work to continue, as Washington tries to cut child rescue budgets. These impacts are for just one program, the ICAC Task Force program, and do not show PROTECT's powerful impact at the state level or on other federal programs.

	Click above to donate See the Impact in a Single State
ABOVE: Since 2006, we've been fighting in Congress to increase resources for combatting child sexual exploitation. Central to this is driving up the budget for America's 61 Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces. The ICACs are the backbone of U.S. capacity to fight this war. From 2006-2009, our efforts doubled base ICAC funding. In 2009-2010, our efforts secured $50 million in Recovery Act funding. In 2011-2012, we won major increases that would have doubled ICAC funding if Congress had passed a budget. Instead, we successfully fought off attempted budget cuts. In 2013, we continue our campaign to increase ICAC funding to $60 million. Renewed attempts to cut child rescue funding in FY13 make our work more important than ever. The "Obama FY13" bar is from the president's proposed budget, and is not yet law. Preventing these cuts is a major priority for PROTECT. Our efforts have also been instrumental in driving up funding for the FBI's Innocent Images program, from $6 million to over $50 million (not show here).

ABOVE: As a direct result of our PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008, the nation's 61 ICAC task forces are required to prioritize child pornography cases where a local victim could be identified and report child rescues to the U.S. Justice Department. The graph above shows child rescues reported to DOJ. In the vast majority of cases, law enforcement is unable to mount an in-depth search for victims, and often does not know if a suspect is a hands-on offender. The downward trend in FY11-FY13 shows the catastrophic results of the refusal of Congress and the Administration to properly fund this child rescue effort... and the urgent need for PROTECT to be there to fight for children.

ABOVE: Known child victims who are reported by the ICAC task forces to DOJ represent just the tip of the iceberg. The real impact of ICAC arrests is much greater. Conservative estimates indicate that at least 40% of child pornography possessors are "hands on offenders" with local child victims. Extensive research also suggests the average contact offender has multiple victims throughout his lifetime. If 40% of the suspects arrested by ICACs are hands-on offenders, and if those offenders have an average of 14 current and future victims (a conservative measure), the actual impact of these arrests exceed 30,000 children a year–children who are either rescued outright, have their abuser removed from access to them or are spared contact with an active sexual predator in the future. Aggressive interdiction of child sexual exploitation is the surest form of child prevention ever, and entirely within our reach.

House Alicias Law Amendment Feb 23 2012

grierweeks@protect.org (Grier Weeks) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:16:54 GMT

<Back to main Alicia's Law Campaign page

(Feb. 27, 2012) The following amendment was passed by the Virginia House of Delegates, Thursday, February 23, 2012. It "restores" funding taken from the Alicia's Law Fund by Gov. Bob McDonnell in his budget. But it creates a new potential problem. By using the legal term "may" instead of "shall," the amendment would make the allocation of these funds to law enforcement agencies optional. If the Governor does not allocate all of the funds, they revert to the state's general fund at the end of the fiscal year.

http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+amd+HB30AH

DEL. BELL, ROBERT

Page 290, item 393 #7h, introduced

Virginia ICAC Letter to House

grierweeks@protect.org (Grier Weeks) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:51:48 GMT

PROTECT
P.O. Box 27599
Knoxville, TN 37927

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Honorable Lacey E. Putney
Honorable M. Kirkland Cox
Honorable Beverly J. Sherwood
General Assembly Building
P.O. Box 406
Richmond, Virginia 23218

Dear Delegates:

We are writing concerning questions raised by the House Appropriations Committee about the Northern and Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces. It is our understanding that Committee staff is implying that performance, expenditures or reporting by the ICACs is inadequate, and grounds for taking $1.3 million from the Alicia’s Law Fund in 2012-2014.

We cannot speak for either the Virginia State Police (VSP) or the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department, of course. But we would respectfully like to address some of the allegations we have heard.

Rate of Expenditures
We have heard it suggested that the ICACs have not spent the money they were appropriated in FY 2010-2011. As you know, the Fund did not go into effect until July 1, 2010, and funds from court fees had not yet accrued. There seems to be a misunderstanding by the Committee that the ICACs each received $600,000 in state funds in advance of the funds being available. In fact, both agencies struggled to operate without any funds, and our understanding is that the VSP even had to get a partial advance on anticipated funding. The SOVA ICAC operated for approximately 8-9 months without any funding at all. Add to this the inevitable time required for startup, hiring and training, and we believe these law enforcement agencies are being unfairly and inaccurately criticized.

Reporting
We have also heard criticism of the ICAC reports, including that they were late, filed improperly or incomplete. In fact, detailed reports were submitted which were rejected because they were “too specific.” On January 26, Camille Cooper from our staff appeared before Del. Sherwood’s subcommittee with Deputy House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert and asked whether they had any questions or concerns regarding the VSP, Bedford County Sheriff’s Department or the Attorney General’s Office with regard to use of Alicia’s Law Funds. The State Police, the NOVA ICAC, the AG’s office, and the Secretary of Public Safety were all present. Del. Sherwood turned to Committee staff with this inquiry and then responded that there were none. Ms. Cooper has made repeated appeals to Committee staff that they meet with the ICACs and explain their expectations and needs, and to this date they have refused to meet or clarify any confusion.

Performance
Finally, we have heard veiled criticism about the ICACs’ performance. Not only have arrests and child rescues climbed dramatically in the past two years, but the return on taxpayer investment in the ICACs is beyond financial measure. Approximately 332 criminals were arrested by the ICACs last year alone. If just 1 in 3 was a hands-on offender (a very conservative estimate) that means over 100 children were rescued or protected. More likely, those predators had multiple present and future victims, and the Virginia children protected could be in the thousands, in just the first two years alone. Among the 61 ICAC task forces nationwide, the NOVA and SOVA ICACs have one of the top reputations for excellence.

Conclusion
We want to strongly emphasize that none of the issues raised by the Committee or its staff is legitimate grounds for raiding the Alicia’s Law Fund. This is a dedicated account created by state statute (17.1-275.12), funded by a special court fee for one specific purpose, not a discretionary fund for general use.

We also want to express our deep concern that either the Virginia State Police or the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department might be subject to retaliatory action because of PROTECT. We have advocated strenuously and publicly for our cause because we ultimately had no choice remaining. The men and women on the front lines of the fight against child exploitation are national heroes, doing more good with less resources than any citizen could imagine or hope for, and they should not be disparaged by a rough and tumble political process.

Sincerely,

Grier Weeks
Executive Director

Gov. McDonnell: Putting Wildlife Before Children

grierweeks@protect.org (Grier Weeks) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:44:13 GMT

By Grier Weeks

Citizens outraged over Gov. Bob McDonnell’s attempted raid on the Alicia’s Law child rescue fund can learn a lesson from hunters and fishermen.

McDonnell is trying to patch holes in his state budget by grabbing $1.3 million from the Alicia’s Law Fund. Created in 2010, the fund goes to law enforcement for fighting child pornography and rescuing children from the hands of sexual predators. (The first Alicia's Law victory, led by Del. Brian Moran, was in 2008.)

If you’re like me, you’d probably like to live in a society where a move like that is utter political suicide. But it’s not so much. Virginia House and Senate leaders went along with McDonnell’s insane scheme in their budget proposals too.

To understand the robbery now in progress, it helps to compare the Alicia’s Law Fund to something more familiar, like Virginia’s Game Protection Fund. The first collects fees from criminals and puts them in a special account. The second collects fees from boaters and sportsmen and does the exact same thing.

Both special accounts are supposed to be used for particular purposes. The Alicia’s Law fund goes to law enforcement for catching child predators and rescuing children. The Game Protection Fund goes to build boat ramps and conduct other activities for sportsmen.

What Happens When You Steal from Sportsmen?
In 1990, rumors got out that another Virginia Governor, Doug Wilder, was planning to raid the Game Protection Fund. It didn’t take long for him to regret he had. “Great Outdoors Could Mean Cash For Government” ran a headline in the Daily Press of Newport News.

“You can imagine the Virginia sportsmen's response to gossip that Gov. L. Douglas Wilder was preparing to raid the Game Protection Fund,” wrote reporter Skip Miller. “The Virginia Wildlife Federation has mobilized a protest movement.”

Yes, I can imagine it.

"Whatever money might be diverted from the Game Protection Fund,” wrote the president of the VWF, “really is quite insignificant, relative to the predicted general fund shortage, but devastating by comparison with available funding for mandated activities of the agency that is wholly dependent upon the special fund for financial support." Change a few words, and you’ve made our case.

Almost 20 years later, Roanoke Times outdoor reporter Bill Cochran still recalled the episode. “This brings back memories of the raid on the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ Game Protection Fund by former governor Doug Wilder. That money was returned after outrage by sportsmen…”

What Happens When You Steal from Raped Children?
Steal from the Game Protection Fund, and you’ve got to face angry boaters, fishermen and hunters. Steal from raped kids, and your fate has always been less clear in the political arena.

It’s often been said that “children don’t vote,” as if that explains anything. But you won’t find a clearer example of why that old saw can’t cut wood than the story of Wilder and McDonnell. Largemouth bass can’t vote either. The point is, a man will fight you if you threaten his fish and game. Very few will raise hell if you threaten children, at least as long as they are other people’s children.

Sure, most people will swear up and down that they care deeply about kids, that they’re Mama Grizzlies or tough guys who better not get their hands on anyone who’d hurt a child. But McDonnell knows the truth: they don’t represent the same threat that other special interest groups do. They won’t usually cross party lines for children, they don’t usually put their money where their mouth is, and if you muddy the waters enough, they’ll take their fishing tackle and go back to the house.

But Not in Virginia
McDonnell’s track record proves he respects the political power of sportsmen. As Attorney General, he endured intense criticism for going easy on officials from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (who run the Game Protection Fund), after they used taxpayer dollars to “lavishly outfit themselves for an African safari.” According to media reports, they repaid the state and gave a $25,000 campaign contribution to McDonnell.

Now, in 2012, McDonnell is showing again that he learned his lesson from Gov. Wilder. While trying to transfer $1.3 million out of the Alicia’s Law Fund, he proposes to transfer millions from general revenue into the Game Protection Fund.

What’s harder to understand is McDonnell’s bizarre lack of judgment when it comes to PROTECT, the pro-child, anti-crime movement with a strong presence in Virginia. McDonnell has known PROTECT well since 2004, when he was a state delegate. And he knows we were behind the original passage of Alicia’s Law.

In the months leading up to the release of Gov. McDonnell’s budget, PROTECT had numerous contacts with Bob McDonnell. We asked him not to take money from the Alicia’s Law fund. We reminded him that less money means more child pornographers in Virginia communities. We even confirmed in writing from his staff that he was personally aware of our opposition to his budget.

It’s true, PROTECT doesn’t have tens of thousands of Virginia voters who will march on the Capitol with their fishing rods. But Bob McDonnell knows we’re bipartisan, pissed off and relentless. And he’s seen us inflict political pain on several occasions. What’s the percentage in stirring up opponents like us? Why would any politician put himself on the wrong side of this issue? We might never know.

As this is written, budget negotiators from the Virginia House and Senate are meeting behind closed doors (with a deadline of later today) making final changes to their budgets. As introduced, both of those House and Senate budgets include Gov. McDonnell’s raid on the Alicia’s Law fund. These lawmakers are now abundantly aware of what is at stake (in the real world and the political world), after PROTECT members from across America lit up their phones Friday, inspired by an appeal from Alicia Kozakiewicz herself.

This must be made right. Every last penny of Alicia’s Law money must be left in the fund, and Gov. Bob McDonnell should issue a formal apology to one of Virginia’s best known crime victims, Alicia Kozakiewicz, for making her relive her horrific child abduction and spend her precious time imploring Virginia leaders to do the simple, moral thing.

PROTECT is not the fish and game lobby. Yet. But the cause we fight for is more righteous by far, and we know how to fight.

So, because pro-child, anti-crime voters cannot continue to be disrespected and unfeared--nor can they be expected to continually fight just to maintain the ground they've already gained--the bottom line is this: there must be a political price to pay for treating children as less important than fish and game.

For that reason, we’ll hold every Virginia politician who sides with Bob McDonnell over his budget accountable.

Grier Weeks is Executive Director of PROTECT (www.protect.org)

More: Main Alicia's Law Campaign Page

Virginia Convictions

grierweeks@protect.org (Grier Weeks) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:34:51 GMT

Why is PROTECT Fighting to Keep Politicians' Hands OFF Alicia's Law?
Thanks to the efforts of PROTECT members across America, Alicia's Law was first passed in Virginia in 2008. In 2010, a dedicated Alicia's Law fund was created. Below are examples of the child predators removed from society--and access to children--thanks to Alicia's Law and the law enforcement professionals it supports. Click on the photo to read new stories. Click here for our main Alicia's Law Campaign page.

McDonnell Raid Detail

grierweeks@protect.org (Grier Weeks) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:24:23 GMT

< Click here for our main Alicia's Law Campaign page.

Governor Bob McDonnell's Raid on Alicia's Law: Detail

Miscellaneous Transfers, page C-79 and C-80 (actual transfer on p. C-80, second line)

Governor McDonnell's Raid on Alicia's Law

grierweeks@protect.org (Grier Weeks) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:09:56 GMT

(FEB 18, 2012) Here is evidence that Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is attempting to raid the Alicia's Law fund, taking revenue specifically dedicated by statute for law enforcement to combat child pornography trafficking and child exploiation... and using it for other priorities.

Gov. Bob McDonnell's Proposed
2012-2014 Budget

Click here for PDF of Governor's Budget

Click here to go to official state budget website

Click here to see excerpts from the budget document

Other Important Links
Alicia's Law: Virginia Statute