CONTACT:       Sara Lang, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, 919-733-0098

                        Jason Sulham, Nexus Strategies, Stop Internet Predators, 919.829.1132 x105 

DATE:              May 18, 2009                                       

**Media Advisory**

LT. GOV. DALTON ANNOUNCES WEEK TO PROTECT KIDS FROM ONLINE PREDATORS

With North Carolina’s children facing increasing dangers online, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton will hold a press conference Tuesday to announce that May 18-25 has been declared North Carolina Stop Internet Predators Awareness Week.  The week, which was designated through proclamation by Gov. Bev Perdue, aims to educate all North Carolinians on the ways child predators are using the Internet and provide parents with resources to better protect their children. 

Investigations and operations conducted by the North Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force resulted in more than 800 subpoenas in 2008. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children one in five girls and one in ten boys are sexually exploited before they reach adulthood. Recent action taken by attorneys general resulted in the removal of more than 90,000 sexual offenders from social networking websites.  Last year, Dalton authored a new law that banned the use of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook by sexual predators, increased penalties for sexual exploitation of children and prohibited name changes that help predators hide.

Dalton will be joined at the event by Sen. Josh Stein and Rep. Tricia Cotham, who will discuss efforts in the General Assembly to protect North Carolina’s children, and Stacie Rumenap, executive director of Stop Child Predators.  The press conference is sponsored by the national organization Stop Child Predators and their advocacy project Stop Internet Predators.

Other events scheduled during Stop Internet Predators Awareness Week include:

·         A PSA featuring Raleigh City Councilwoman Mary-Ann Baldwin and Raleigh Chief of Police Harry Dolan will run on all three Raleigh Television Network channels.

·         The North Carolina Department of Justice will present an internet safety program sponsored by the Stop Internet Predators project at West Cary Middle School.

·         Stacie Rumenap, executive director of Stop Child Predators and Stop Internet Predators, will be available for media interviews to discuss the national effort and how we can make our communities safer from child predators.

WHO:        Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton

                   Sen. Josh Stein

                   Rep. Tricia Cotham

                   Stacie Rumenap, Stop Child Predators

WHAT:      Stop Internet Predators Awareness Week

WHEN:      Tuesday, May 19^th at 10:30 a.m.

WHERE:   General Assembly Press Conference Room

                   10 W. Jones Street

Raleigh, NC

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