The General Insider - Volume 76
Expanding our Fight Against Human Trafficking
Last week, I announced the expansion of?Be The Solution, my statewide campaign that empowers Mississippians with tools to identify, report and end human trafficking in Mississippi.?As part of the expansion, we're working with eight new partners who will train their employees and distribute informational materials to their customers.
Everyday Mississippians can be extraordinary heroes for a victim of trafficking; they just need to know what to look for and how to report what they see.?I am incredibly grateful for these?partners who are equipping their employees and customers with the tools they need to be the solution in their communities. Together, we are empowering Mississippians
In addition to welcoming new partners, I launched a statewide advertising campaign directing Mississippians on where to report human trafficking tips
I first launched?Be The Solution?in June 2021 with partners, the Department of Public Safety, Department of Education, Mississippi Trucking Association, Mississippi Beer Distributors Association, Mississippi Development Authority, Mississippi Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores Association and KLLM.
For more information on?Be The Solution, as well as the other anti-trafficking initiatives of my office, click?here.
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Affirming the Dignity and Worth of All Lives
Last week,?World Magazine ran my op-ed?on the necessary next steps in the new?Dobbs?era:
For nearly 50 years, people from all across the United States have marched in the streets of D.C., driven by hope and resolve that one day the egregiously wrong, deadly, and unworkable?Roe v Wade?would be overturned.
Thousands of Americans marched again for the first time since the Court overturned?Roe. Contrary to what many reported, this year’s March for Life was not a victory lap. Quite the opposite.
As we marched, we said goodbye to one chapter of American history, and we started a new one. This new chapter comes replete with our respect for the dignity of all life and is one that underscores our commitment to the lives of all children and also to the women who face pregnancy, even in difficult circumstances.
When I appeared before the justices in December 2021 with a petition to support Mississippi’s laws regulating abortion, I argued that we can and must both empower women and promote life. With the five simple words, “Roe?and?Casey?are overruled,” the Court granted the people this opportunity.
With the task now falling to us, we must rise to this challenge with the very same energy we mustered for five decades to bring us to this new era.?Roe?has been overturned, and now the hard work just gets harder.
You can read my full op-ed in World Magazine?here.
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Tips on How to Keep You and Your Loved Ones Safe Online
This week, we recognized Safer Internet Day. I used this opportunity to start the conversation about sextortion, a type of blackmail?used by offenders to obtain sexual content or money from a child, or to coerce them into engaging in sexual activity. With more children online, it is a rising concern for parents across the country.
As the head of Mississippi's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which is a multi-jurisdiction law enforcement effort to protect children from online predators
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Keeping Children Safe from Predators
On January 17, 2023,?Eean Gage Rockwell of Lucedale, Mississippi, was sentenced by George County Circuit Judge Calvin Taylor to two counts of Child Exploitation. Rockwell was sentenced to a term of twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with seven to serve followed by five years of post-release supervision.?Rockwell will also have to register as a sex offender.
My office investigated and prosecuted this case starting with a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). If you have information about a child being sexually exploited online, please report it to 1-800-843-5678. The hotline is manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by NCMEC and tips are reported to my office. You can also make a report online at?www.cybertipline.org.
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Defending Against Illegal Immigration
On January 25, I joined a 25-state coalition in supporting a federal criminal prohibition
The Biden Administration’s lack of a cogent strategy and blind reversal of Trump immigration policies has left our border in chaos.?The Ninth Circuit’s decision will impede the enforcement of criminal immigration laws and add to this chaos.?What’s more, if left undisturbed, this precedent could create widespread uncertainty about a variety of criminal laws.
You can read the brief?here.?
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Bringing on New Criminal Division Leadership
Earlier this week, I announced three new leaders in our criminal divisions, bringing nearly 70 years of combined experience in law enforcement and criminal prosecution at the local, state, and federal levels. Former U.S. Secret Service Resident Agent in Charge Shawn Wolfe joins the AGO as Director of the Cyber Crime Division. Captain Marcus Colley, former Director of the Mississippi Highway Patrol Training Division, joins the agency as the Deputy Director of Criminal Investigations. And former Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Cranford has been promoted to Director of the Public Integrity Division.
I am excited these three individuals with proven track records for seeking justice at the federal, state and local level have joined our team.?By adding these experienced leaders?to our criminal justice team, we are forging even stronger partnerships with law enforcement across the State and taking even greater strides to promote safety and security in our communities.