#137: Online Grooming Victim Alicia Kozakiewicz On Being Kidnapped By A Paedophile
At 13 years old, Alicia Kozakiewicz was groomed by a 38-year-old man in an internet chat room. He was pretending to be a boy the same age as Alicia. After almost a year of online conversations, he lured her into meeting him in person. He abducted and sexually assaulted her, broadcasting the abuse online for other predators to see. Three days later, Alicia was rescued by FBI agents. Now, Alicia is the founder of The Alicia Project, which raises awareness of internet safety, online child predators and abductions. She is also an internationally acclaimed motivational speaker, internet safety expert, and missing persons advocate. In this episode, we discuss the horrific moment that Alicia was abducted and the unimaginable events that followed, as well as Alicia’s current work in advocating for internet safety and education. Please be warned that this episode explores extremely sensitive topics around child abuse.