Jeff Slowikowski, Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; Laurie Robinson, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs; FBI Special Agent Michael Conrad, recipient of the Missing Children's Law Enforcement Award; and Attorney General Eric Holder (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).
Attorney General Eric Holder announced Tuesday a $30 million award to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The announcement came at an awards ceremony held on National Missing Children’s Day in the Great Hall of the Robert F. Kennedy Justice Department Building.
Attorney General Eric Holder (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).
Several government officials were on hand for the ceremony including Jeff Slowikowski, Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; Laurie Robinson, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs; Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan; Chief Postal Inspector William Gilligan; and U.S. Marshals Director John Clark. Three FBI special agents – two from Miami, Fla., and one from Phoenix — received awards for their work on finding missing children.
Holder said the law enforcement community has made great strides over the past decade on combating the abduction of children.
“Before the media, before the experts, before anyone else, families in crisis turn – first – to law enforcement. In these officers, desperate parents, grandparents, and guardians place their trust, as well as their hopes of seeing their missing children again. It’s an extraordinary responsibility – one that our law enforcement community meets with great speed, compassion, and determination,” Holder said in prepared remarks.
Robinson said there was “no bigger advocate for children” than Holder, mentioning his signature issue of reducing the impact of exposure to violence on children.
In addition, the Justice Department published Tuesday the fourth edition of the manual “When Your Child Is Missing: A Family Survival Guide.” The guide was famously promoted by former Attorney General Janet Reno on Larry King Live. They also released a new guide called “The Crime of Family Abduction: A Child’s and Parent’s Perspective,” which was written with the help of six people who had experienced family abduction to help victims and their families.
Here’s a list of award recipients from the Justice Department:
Attorney General’s Special Commendation Award: Recognizes the extraordinary efforts of an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), an ICAC affiliate agency or an individual assigned to an ICAC Task Force or affiliate agency for making a significant investigative or program contribution to the ICAC Task Force.
o Recipient: Assistant District Attorney Kelly Miller with the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office, an affiliate to the North Carolina ICAC, for her investigative work which led to the prosecution of an adult offender for child sexual abuse. The defendant was sentenced to 115 to 142.5 years in prison. Her outstanding coordination of the case and extraordinary care and attention to the victim were highlighted.
Jeff Slowikowski, Laurie Robinson, Miama FBI Special Agents Catherine Koontz and James Lewis and Attorney General Eric Holder (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).
Missing Children’s Law Enforcement Award: Recognizes the extraordinary efforts of a law enforcement officer who has made a significant investigative or program contribution to the safety of a child.
o Recipient: Special Agent Michael J. Conrad from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s office in Phoenix, who assisted in the recovery of an abducted 2-year-old child.
Missing Children’s Citizen Award: Honors the extraordinary efforts of private citizens for their unselfish acts to safely recover missing or abducted children.
o Recipients: Postmaster James Pantoja, Mail Carrier Tony Palma, and Distributor Associate Denultra Camp from the Tombstone, Ariz., Postal Facility who, upon the receipt of a missing child poster, distributed the information and used it during daily operations to contribute to the safe recovery of a 9-year-old child.
Missing Children’s Child Protection Award: Honors the extraordinary efforts of a law enforcement officer who has made a significant investigative or program contribution to protecting children from abuse or victimization.
o Recipient: Special Agents Catherine Koontz and James T. Lewis of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s office in Miami, who investigated and coordinated law enforcement operations focused on an Internet case involving thousands of images of child pornography that led to an investigation of sexual abuse of children.
