Managing Editor

Georgia lawmakers, working to fight a rising tide of Internet crime, are moving to make it easier for authorities to go after - and prosecute - those who use the computer to prey on children.

The Senate Thursday approved the final piece of Lt. Governor Mark Taylor's cyber-crime legislation geared toward cracking down on predators who prey on children over the Internet.

Rep. Mack Crawford, R-Concord, represents Upson County. He said the measure, which makes it easier to get information from Internet Service Providers, will be reviewed - and probably passed by the House.

Pike County School Superintendent Darryl Dean was arrested March 10 for allegedly having sexual communications on the Internet with an undercover Peachtree City police officer posing as a 15-year-old girl.

And late last month, a Thomaston man, William Stanley McClain, was indicted in Forsyth for allegedly molesting a 14-year-old boy he met on the Internet.

The spring criminal term of Upson Superior Court begins April and of the 239 cases on the calender, 27 people were charged with crimes against children.

"Parents need to be aware there are predators, barracudas, out there surfing the internet looking for children," said J.T. Ricketson with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's regional office in Greenville.

Sponsored by Senator Adelman (D-DeKalb), the cyber-crime legislation protects children and provides law enforcement what they need to go after criminals who target children in online chat rooms.

"This makes sure our law enforcement has the tools they need to keep up with crimes using the Internet. It's common sense," Adelman said.

Specifically, the legislation (that has passed in phases) does the following:

- Provides subpoena power for law enforcement to require Internet Service Providers to release identifying information about perpetrators who are suspected of masquerading as "friends" to children

- Provides much-needed immunity to Internet Service Providers if they deliver the identifying information that is otherwise protected by privacy laws.

- Provides for interstate cooperation by recognizing the subpoenas of other jurisdictions

Joining Florida, Georgia will be one of the first states to provide for this kind of interstate cooperation. It is an essential step in the effort to enable other jurisdictions to honor Georgia's subpoenas when our law enforcement needs information from the cooperating states' Internet Service Providers.

"Without these important changes, Georgia was giving the green light for these predators to roam free and go after our children in their homes," Lt. Governor Taylor said in a press release sent to the newspaper.

Nearly every day, the GBI receives email addresses of suspected cyber predators from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Because of the current constraints in Georgia law, the GBI cannot easily obtain the identity connected to the email addresses. The legislation, which fixes that, now moves to the House for consideration.