April 10, 2026
Simmons Law School lecture addresses online child exploitation
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman will discuss the battle against online child exploitation during a lecture at the SIU Simmons Law School on Thursday, April 16.
Coleman will present “Online Child Exploitation and Efforts to Combat this Growing Threat” at 5:30 p.m. in the Hiram H. Lesar Building’s auditorium. A reception is at 5 p.m.in the law school’s formal lounge.
The lecture, part of the Gene & Katy Simonds Lectureship in Democracy series, is free and open to the public.
Coleman is “one of the nation’s most accomplished law enforcement leaders,” Simmons Law School Dean Hannah Brenner Johnson said.
“Coleman’s discussion will offer our students, faculty, alumni and our broader community an opportunity to learn more about the role of law in confronting this growing danger,” she said.
Prior to his election in 2023, Coleman was U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky after his 2017 nomination by President Donald Trump and unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate. As a U.S. Attorney, he was the chief federal law enforcement officer for Kentucky’s 53 western counties ranging from Louisville to the Jackson Purchase region. A former FBI special agent, Coleman also was a partner in the then-Louisville-based Frost Brown Todd (now FBT Gibbons LLP) law firm. He was a prosecutor in the Oldham Commonwealth Attorney’s Office and legal counsel to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky.
Ninth lecture in series
The series was established in 2015 through a gift from Emma K. “Katy” Simonds. The funds support a lecture, symposium or debate on a topic of current or recurring public interest, which explores commonsense solutions to issues related to the common good by applying principles of limited government, popular sovereignty, personal liberty, personal responsibility and federalism.
“A law school has a responsibility to engage with the hardest questions facing our communities and our democracy, and this means welcoming a full range of perspectives on what democratic governance and the rule of law require,” Brenner Johnson said. “The Gene and Katy Simonds Lectureship in Democracy has always reflected that commitment, bringing to Southern Illinois voices that challenge and enrich our thinking.”
Will also be at SIU’s Paul Simon Institute
Earlier in the day, Coleman will participate in a Pizza and Politics session at 12:30 p.m. at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, where he will discuss public policy, leadership, and the responsibilities of statewide office. Pre-registration for that event is encouraged but not required.