Abduction Survivor Speaks to John Marshall Students About Online Safety
Alan Olson Trending
GLEN DALE - One of the first known victims of internet luring and child abduction addressed Marshall County students of the dangers still lurking out there today as they were in her time.
Alicia Kozakiewicz was abducted from her home near Pittsburgh by North Carolina resident Scott Tyree. Kozakiewicz was kept in a "basement dungeon" for three days until her rescue by police. Since then, Kozakiewicz has served as a motivational speaker, internet safety expert, and advocate for victims, missing persons and abduction survivors.
Tyree was sentenced to 17 years in prison; upon his release in 2019 to a halfway house near Pittsburgh, he violated the terms of his probation, sending him back for two additional years, according to published reports. He has since been released.
Kozakiewicz shared her story with the students of John Marshall, and also addressed internet safety both for adults and for students. While the internet and the way people interact with it have changed dramatically in 20 years, the dangers have not.
"There's more education, and there's more awareness in many ways, but kids have so much more freedom, and it's such an integral part of their being, with them 24/7," Kozakiewicz said. "… It's just part of our lives. Having more exposure to (the internet) makes it riskier. I don't know if there's more offenders, but certainly the offenders are on the internet, on the sites the kids are on."
Kozakiewicz advised that many kids think themselves beyond the reach of internet predators. She advised them that they aren't, and that there was no shame in asking parents for help. Likewise, she advocated that parents take an active interest in how their children engage with the internet.
"This can happen to you. I never thought it would happen to me, and it did. It absolutely can happen to you, and you have to protect your family from it," she said. "Parents and caregivers have to talk to their children about internet safety ... as soon as they get on the internet; I've seen toddlers playing on their phones.
"Monitor what their kids are doing. It's not about snooping or getting your child in trouble. It's about if something does go wrong, it's there. If you find out your child was at the party they weren't supposed to or tried a beer, it's not about 'Look what I found on your phone, I caught you!' It's not about that. It's so that if your child goes missing or if something's happening, you can prevent it."
She added that parents should make it clear that their children can come forward to them at any time with concerns without fear of reprisal, especially the loss of access to the internet.
"That's what kids are most afraid of. They're afraid that their devices will be taken away or that they'll get in trouble," Kozakiewicz said. "It's hard to ask for help from your parents when you did make a mistake and did something shocking to them."
Beyond that, Kozakiewicz said that kids have a responsibility to make good choices about what they choose to share online, and that it's never a bad idea to bail out or seek help if things go too far.
"You're not invincible. Any child, any teenager, can be a victim. Anybody can make that mistake, and nobody thought they were going to be a victim when it happens."
Kozakiewicz's mother, Mary Kozakiewicz, was in the audience Thursday. She offered further advice to parents - don't assume that good parenting is enough to keep their kids safe.
"We have to abandon the idea that because we're good parents and our children are good kids that they're safe, especially on the safe," she said. "Quite often, it's the child that's never seen evil, who's been raised in their happy little bubble, but don't recognize it and get pulled in.
"We have to realize that are parents. We have to. ... Just because they're great parents doesn't mean their kids are any more safe than any other child."
Kozakiewicz shared her story with John Marshall High School students Thursday, and will speak at Cameron High School today.
On Tuesday, Kozakiewicz will return to JMHS from 5:30 to 7 p.m. for a free presentation to the public. The program is part of Marshall County Schools' second edition of the "LOOK" community outreach program. All are encouraged to attend.
Alicia Kozakiewcz can be found at www.aliciakozak.com, reached at info@aliciakozak.com or at @aliciakozak on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.