Knoxville, TN

For many years, Mr. David Keith has been an advocate for children, starting with his role as an Ambassador for Child Health USA in 1990. In his current role as a National Advisory Board Member of the National Association to Protect Children, Mr. Keith is dedicated to building a strong national agenda for protecting our nation’s children and building a powerful, nonpartisan force for the protection of children from abuse, exploitation, and neglect.

Mr. Keith has worked with Tennessee Attorney General Randy Nichols to implement measures that will thwart the tactics of child predators. He played an integral role in legislation that was passed that permits prior convictions to be submitted as evidence in trials involving sex crimes against children. Through his work with Childhelp USA, he advocated for the “Haley Law” that has raised most child abuse charges to felonies.

To close existing loopholes in Tennessee criminal statutes related to Internet crimes against children, Mr. Keith coordinated the support of the Knoxville Police Department, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.

He is now lobbying in Washington, D.C. for the federal War on Predators Bill, a $1 billion initiative that would add new agents, labs, and prosecutors. This comes after he successfully lobbied California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to allocate $1 million from the state budget to supplement four California Internet Crimes Against Children teams, thereby doubling their existing budgets.