Dordt Professor Contributes to Important Law Enforcement Manual

Jon Moeller, instructor of criminal justice at Dordt University, assisted with the production of a guide called “Be the Solution: Helping Victims of Child Sexual Abuse Material: A Guide for Law Enforcement,” recently published by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Washington D.C.

Moeller is a retired Federal Bureau of Investigators (FBI) agent who has served in a variety of cases, including Crimes against Children investigations such as child trafficking, kidnapping, and pornography. As a result, Moeller was asked to be part of a think tank group that created this publication.

“The guide that we created is really lessons learned,” says Moeller. “We were not always perfect, but how we treat each of these individuals matters to the victims, the families involved, everyone’s future, the investigation, and to the image of law enforcement overall.”

The NCMEC is a group that allows federal agencies to de-conflict and pool resources in order to serve parents, children, law enforcement agencies, schools, and communities. It also provides training and guidance for law enforcement. The guide received input from law enforcement personnel, victims, victim family members, and suspect family members.

“Law enforcement has learned over the past 20 years how to approach investigations differently,” says Moeller. “While the mission and goal has remained the same, the way we go about it is changing.”

As one of the original FBI Crimes against Children investigators, Moeller recovered a 14-year-old victim, Alicia Kozakiewicz, a kidnapped victim of an online predator, in a high-profile case in 2002. While assisting with the production of this guide Moeller was able to reunite with Kozakiewicz after almost 20 years. She is now an Internet safety and missing persons advocate; she plans to speak in Moeller’s Victimology class this spring at Dordt University.

"Professor Jon Moeller has many years of experience both as an undercover police officer and an FBI agent, and students in Dordt’s Criminal Justice benefit greatly from his earned wisdom," says Dr. Leah Zuidema, vice president for academic affairs at Dordt. "In addition to learning from his technical expertise, students value Professor Moeller’s reflections on the role of faith and a Christ-centered view of justice in the world of law enforcement. It is encouraging to see how he continues to influence the profession by teaching our students and through service such as his participation in developing this guide for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children."

As an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community to work toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. Dordt, located in Sioux Center, Iowa, is a comprehensive university named to the best college lists by The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review.