10. This survivor who lives and breathes the term “stranger danger.”
Alicia Kozakiewicz was just 13 years old when she was groomed online by a man who posed as a peer.
A shy young girl, Alicia had found her voice by connecting with others online. Mutual friends led to more mutual friends, which ultimately led to her engaging with the man who would later abduct her.
Alicia was taken from her home in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and brought to the home of 38-year-old Scott Tyree in Herndon, Virginia. She was held captive, chained, beaten, shackled and raped in Tyree’s basement. He broadcasted the acts online via live stream for others to witness.
Having been reported as a missing person, Alicia was recognized by a whistleblower in Florida, whose anonymous tip resulted in a miraculous FBI raid that saved her life.
Today, Alicia is a survivor of sex trafficking, and an advocate for Internet safety through her organization, “The Alicia Project,” which aims to educate students, parents, teachers, law enforcement, governmental and social agencies about the many ways to protect yourself online.
We may not be able to see it, but modern-day slavery is all around us. We have a tendency to put up blinders, and believe that it’s only happening where we can see it — in third world countries across the globe. But it’s happening in our backyards, across the street, at our favorite sporting events and across our nation.
