Tangipahoa Creates Internet Crimes Unit

AMITE – The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office has created a division to handle Internet crimes against children.

The new division will investigate all types of online exploitation of children, spokeswoman Blair Foster said Wednesday.

That will include dealing with child pornography and Internet predators, she said.

The division will also educate the public on Internet safety by providing help to schools, parents, grandparents and teachers, Foster said.

Sheriff Daniel Edwards appointed Toby J. Aguillard to direct the new division. Aguillard is the former deputy director of the Louisiana Attorney General’s High Technology Crime Unit. Aguillard has also served for the past six years as the commander of the Louisiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Foster said.

“The Internet is an important and powerful resource that can enrich our lives, but it also poses new and evolving dangers to our children,” Edwards said.

Detectives assigned to the new division have already begun giving Internet safety presentations in the parish, Foster said.

In coming days, detectives will contact high school and middle school administrators in the parish to offer the Internet safety training, she said.

Anyone with questions about the training should contact Aguillard at (985) 902-2040, Foster said.

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