Grieving Parents Fight CyberCrimes Unit Cuts
Governor Rick Scott wants to downsize Florida CyberCrimes Unit
Resources are already limited when it comes to finding online predators in Florida and now things could get worse.
A Jacksonville mother who lost her daughter to an abduction, rape and murder in 2009 made an angry stand in Tallahassee Tuesday.
"To all who plan to harm our children, we will not stand for it anymore," exclaimed Diena Thompson.
Thompson is fighting back against a proposal to cut back on Florida's Child Predator CyberCrime Unit. Investigators from the Unit caught up with her 7-year-old daughter's alleged killer after tracking child porn on his computer.
Since the state agency was established six years ago, more than 250 online child predators have been arrested, according to the Florida Attorney General's website.
The CyberCrime Unit is now on the chopping block as lawmakers try to close a $4 billion deficit. There are currently 34 employees, including 15 investigators, but Governor Rick Scott wants to scale back to 15 employees with only 6 investigators keeping their jobs.
"It doesn't make sense at all," said U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Shultz, who criticized the downsizing with Thompson and Mark Lunsford by her side. Lunsford's daughter, Jessica, was abducted and killed in 2005.
Lunsford says the cutbacks will only benefit the offenders. "The predators will laugh at you because of the weakness you show," he said. "We can't show them weakness. They have no heart."
Here in South Florida, countless people have been arrested for sex crimes against children. Critics say less funding will mean less vigilance and more predators on the streets. Legislators have less than six weeks to pass a balanced budget as the legislative session ends May 6th.
