For 20 years, Boone County Detective Andy Anderson has been working to protect children and prevent crimes against them. The Children’s Trust Fund (CTF), Missouri’s foundation for child abuse prevention, recently recognized Anderson’s efforts with the presentation of the 2008 Richard P. Easter Award.
“Andy truly has a passion for investigating these cases involving child victims,” said Boone County Sheriff Dwayne Carey, who nominated Anderson for this award. “He is extremely knowledgeable and very well trained in this area. Our department is very fortunate to have Andy.”
CTF Executive Director Kirk Schreiber presented the award to Anderson among his peers, including Sheriff Carey, during a ceremony on Friday, April 18 at the Boone County Sheriff’s Department in Columbia. Gus Kolilis, Rodney Jones and Skip McGuire represented the State Technical Assistance Team (STAT) to remark about Det. Anderson’s career and accomplishments related to child protection.
Anderson played an instrumental role in creating the Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force by securing the Internet Cyber Crime Grant, and he currently serves as coordinator of the task force. In this capacity, Anderson conducts Internet crimes investigations related to children in addition to providing public education regarding Internet safety and prevention against predators.
Internet Sleuth-Photo and caption published by the Columbia Daily Tribune
Det. Andy Anderson’s speech for Victim’s Rights on 4-17-08
“If I’m talking to the kids, I think the most important message is to just be careful with what you’re doing and to look out for each other,” Anderson said. When educating their caretakers, he says that positive parenting goes a long way in preventing attacks by Internet predators.
“I tell them how important it is to on a daily basis to work hard to maintain that relationship with your kids,” Anderson said. “If they’re not getting that attention at home that they think they need, they’ll find somebody on the Internet that will give it to them.”
As a father of four and grandfather of four, Anderson understands the value of protecting Missouri children. “I like to think of them when I do this work,” Anderson said.
The CTF board of directors established this award in honor of the late Richard P. Easter, who is remembered for his commitment and leadership in promoting statewide prevention efforts to better protect Missouri’s children. CTF presents the award each year to a distinguished law enforcement officer in Missouri for exemplary contributions to the prevention of child abuse and neglect.
Previous award winners include:
2007-Cynthia Gonnella, Computer Investigative Specialist, STAT
2005-Det. Sgt. Maria Gomez, St. Louis County Police Department
2004-Det. Darren Gallup, Joplin Police Department
2003-Detective Emerson ‘Skip’ McGuire, Columbia Police Department
2002-Anna Kimble, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
2001-Det. Dennis Green, Independence Police Department
2000-William “Bill” Heinzel, Stone County Sheriff’s Department
Created in 1983 by the Missouri General Assembly, CTF is Missouri’s foundation for child abuse and neglect prevention providing grants, education and public awareness to community organizations across the state. Over the last 25 years, CTF has distributed over $35 million dollars of non-general revenue funding to support families and prevent abuse. For more information, visit www.ctf4kids.org.
