Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominee Annie Potts and Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee Michael O’Keefe star in the LIFETIME Original Movie, Defending Our Kids: The Julie Posey Story. Inspired by a true story, Potts portrays Julie Posey, a homemaker who, after her young daughter is approached by a pedophile in an online chat room, launches a one-woman fight to help police investigator Mike Harris (Michael O’Keefe) catch sexual predators by posing as a lonely teenager on the web.
Defending Our Kids: The Julie Posey Story premiered Monday, July 21, 9-11pm (ET/PT) on LIFETIME Television.
“Julie Posey’s story is remarkable,” Executive Producer Frank von Zerneck said, “not only because she is an ordinary person who has shown extraordinary bravery and dedication as a cyber-crimefighter, but also because her story raises a significant issue — how do you protect your children? The statistics on pedophiles out there prowling the web are staggering. As a grandparent myself, it’s a very real concern.” Executive Producer Robert M. Sertner continued, “This story is suspenseful, too, because it’s about someone who must outwit these predators by putting herself in potentially dangerous situations,” he added. “The more we watch her tracking down suspects, the more we realize how pervasive and destructive this threat is, and the more we want to root for her. She is a real unsung hero in our society today.”
“As soon as I read about Julie Posey and her work, I knew her story deserved to become a movie,” Executive Producer Ira Pincus said. “It illuminates an important problem that many people don’t realize exists,” he explained. “The Internet has changed the world in many great and positive ways, but it also has had negative affects, like making children far more vulnerable to sexual predators. What is truly inspirational is that nobody asked Julie to do this. She could be anyone’s mother, or anyone’s sister or aunt or grandmother. But she recognized that there was a huge need and took it upon herself to make a change.”
Disheartened to learn from police investigator Mike Harris (Michael O’Keefe) that there are no laws to stop pedophiles from preying on children on the web, Julie volunteers to monitor chat rooms for the police by pretending she is a teenager and keeping a log of the conversations. But in spite of her success in helping to arrest and convict predators, her work puts a strain on her family, who feels she is going too far. Then the revelation in court that Julie herself was sexually molested as a child jeopardizes her testimony and forces Mike to stop working with her. Julie must find a way to prove herself, both to her family and to the police — even at the risk of her own life.
“Online enticement of children, particularly teen girls, is a serious problem in the United States,” said Tina Schwartz, Director of Public Affairs, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. “The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is grateful to LIFETIME Television for airing Defending Our Kids: The Julie Posey Story to inform parents and potential victims of the risks involved in meeting an Internet friend in the real world.”
Director Joanna Kerns was immediately drawn to the project because Julie Posey’s story is about a phenomenon that affects all families. “Those of us who live everyday lives don’t think about how the Internet has created such access to our children inside our own homes,” Kerns said. “I would like viewers to recognize that everyone needs to become more aware and responsible about using the web.” Annie Potts was moved by Posey’s spirit. “It’s an empowering story,” Potts explained. “Here is an ordinary housewife who actually does find and bring down the bad guys. She proves that one person can make a difference.”
Michael O’Keefe also admires how Julie Posey acted on her own initiative 
to go to the police. “She saw what was happening and knew there was something she could do to help protect kids. In a sense, just by making that choice she shows how our strength as a society depends on each of us,” he concluded.
Defending Our Kids: The Julie Posey Story is produced by Ira Pincus Productions in association with von Zerneck Sertner Films for LIFETIME Television.
Tags: Actors Guild Award, Annie Potts, Crimefighter, Dangerous Situations, Defending Our Kids The Julie Posey Story, Golden Globe Award, Harris Michael, Julie Posey Story, Lifetime Television, Lonely Teenager, Michael O Keefe, Mike Harris, Police Investigator, Producer Robert, Screen Actors Guild, Screen Actors Guild Award, Screen Actors Guild Award Nominee, Sexual Predators, Unsung Hero, Woman Fight
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