11 Investigates has learned exclusively that a man accused of kidnapping a teenage girl from outside her Pittsburgh home more than 20 years ago, in the first known internet predator case, is now back behind bars, accused of stalking another woman.
Chief Investigator Rick Earle learned that he’s in custody thanks to the tenacious work of the victim in that case two decades ago.
Earle has covered this case since it began in 2002.
The victim, Alicia Kozakiewicz, in that original case years ago, and her boyfriend were tracking Scott Tyree’s movements online.
That led to new criminal charges and a guilty plea in Cumberland County Court on Tuesday morning.
Earle spoke exclusively with Kozakiewicz, who’s been an outspoken advocate for victims and speaks often to teens about the dangers of internet predators.
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“We were able to stop that. We were able to intervene, and hopefully he will never be able to harm anybody ever again,” Kozakiewicz told Earle.
Kozakiewicz said she’s relieved that the man accused of abducting her 23 years ago from outside her home in Pittsburgh and sexually assaulting her in the basement of his Virginia house until the FBI, acting on a tip, stormed the home, is now back behind bars.
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Earle: Does it make you feel good that you could help someone else?
Kozakiewicz: Yes, it does. It is a huge relief that we were able to get to her in time.
In 2018, 11 Investigates broke the story that Scott Tyree had been released from prison to a halfway house in Pittsburgh, just several miles from Kozakiewicz’s family home.
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Kozakiewicz fought the placement of Tyree near her family home in court, and prosecutors then discovered Tyree had violated his parole by accessing online pornography.
He was sent back to prison but released two years later.
For the past several years, Kozakiewicz and her boyfriend had been monitoring Tyree’s online activity.
Last summer, several pictures of a woman in stages of undress caught their attention.
Using artificial intelligence, they got a name and tracked down the woman in Harrisburg.
“I sat and talked to her and we both said I want you to understand how serious this is and what this man did and not to take this lightly. And thankful, she did take it seriously,” said Kozakiewicz, who now lives in North Carolina.
Tyree is a registered sex offender and his picture and description of his car with the plate number are on the Pennsylvania Megan’s Law website.
The woman reached out to police after she spotted Tyree’s car at several locations where she had been.
According to the police affidavit, the woman saw the car outside her home and she confronted the driver, confirming that it was Tyree.
Investigators then questioned Tyree, and they say he admitted stalking the woman.
At a court hearing on Tuesday morning in Cumberland County, Tyree pleaded guilty to the stalking charge.
He’s set to be sentenced on the charge in December.
“I’m so incredibly grateful that she went to the police and she reported it and that didn’t say oh well, I’m imaging things, that can’t be possible. That she really took control of this and then law enforcement stood up and took control of it and investigated him,” said Kozakiewicz.
Investigators executed a search warrant at his home and said they also found images of child pornography on Tyree’s cell phone.
Tyree is also facing child pornography charges.
That case has yet to be adjudicated.
But Kozakiewicz has strong feelings about Tyree’s future.
“I do think he should be put behind bars for the rest of his live because this is not going to stop. He’s had every opportunity to make better choices and not cause harm and at every turn, his ultimate goal and desire has been to cause harm,” said Kozakiewicz.
Tyree was arrested on the new charges earlier this year.
11 Investigates learned that he pleaded guilty to the stalking charge in court on Tuesday morning.
He will be sentenced on that charge in December.
He remains in jail in Cumberland County, awaiting either a trial or a plea on the child pornography charges.
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