Taking Off Blinders to the Threat of Online Sexual Predators
Taking Off Blinders to the Threat of Online Sexual Predators By Alexandra DeFelice TechNewsWorld 05/09/06 5:00 AM PT One in 33 youths who go online receive an "aggressive" solicitation of a gift in the mail or a phone call. "Those are the predecessors of meeting in real life," Staca Urie, manager of outreach for Netsmartz workshop, told TechNewsWorld. Society is starting to open its eyes to the prevalence of online predators who lurk in cyberspace looking to befriend willing young Web surfers. Still, many of the organizations working to spread awareness worry that people are realizing the dangers too late. Instead of working proactively with these groups or using their resources to research the problem for themselves, most parents are learning about it through news stories on sting operations in which deputies pose as teenagers online, Jeff Powell, executive director of the National Child Safety Foundation, told TechNewsWorld. The "teen" starts a relationship with someone and invites the predator to a house where police are waiting to make an arrest. If that deputy were actually a teenager, the predator would be successful, Powell said. "We empower the parents through knowledge ," he said. Speaking the Lingo Today's youth speak their own lingo. As if it weren't difficult enough to keep track of the words coming out of their mouths, they complicate things by adopting a completely different language online when they send their "buddies" instant messages with various acronyms. A survey commissioned by Cox Communications and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2005 found that 95 percent of parents couldn't identify common chat room lingo that teenagers use to warn people that their parents are watching, such as POS (Parent Over Shoulder) and P911 (Parent Alert). Ninety-two percent did not know A/S/L (Age/Sex/Location). Parents may be resigned to their children's need for secrecy, but they increasingly are realizing that the "buddies" with whom they confide aren't necessarily the kids next door and could very well pose as much -- if not more -- of a threat as a stranger on the street. The study showed that 28 percent of parents don't know or are not sure whether their teens talk to strangers online. Parents were only slightly concerned about the issue of online safety, found research by the Advertising Council. They were more worried about things like pregnancy and drugs and not "as aware of the world of the Web, and the pervasiveness of the issues, and the vulnerability of their children as potential victims," Ellyn Fisher, director of corporate communications for the Advertising Council, told TechNewsWorld. In general, parents say they are more vigilant about where their teens go online if the computer is in a public area. Still, 30 percent of parents allow their teens to use the computer in private areas of the house such as a bedroom, based on the study. Prevalence of the Problem Meanwhile, statistics show that one in five youth ages 10 to 17 who go online are solicited, and one in four are exposed to pornographic videos. What's even scarier is that one in 33 youths who go online receive an "aggressive" solicitation of a gift in the mail or a phone call. "Those are the predecessors of meeting in real life," Staca Urie, manager of outreach for Netsmartz workshop, told TechNewsWorld. Netsmartz partners with schools throughout the nation to create awareness programs and hold assembly-style presentations in which it provides vignettes base on real scenarios. "We give them a realistic view of the voice and input of a teen who's actually been influenced to help them understand the consequences of risky online behavior," Urie said. "We've found teens learn from other teens. The conversation has to start before the sexual solicitation can start. Don't give out personal information. Lay the ground rules." For example, one video clip provided for older youth features a 13-year-old girl, Julie, talking about how she met a 56-year-old man online and ran away with him for three weeks. It turns out the man is a convicted murderer. Her voice is cracking as she tells the story of how the relationship progressed from friends to a more personal exchange -- and how now he's going to be in jail for 25 years. "He sent a letter to me saying it was my fault, and he was going to kill me if he ever got out of jail," she says. "The Internet a tool that has to be used properly. It's like a knife. It's very helpful, but it can also cut you. I didn't think of his background, and I didn't apply it to myself. He could've done anything to me -- even killed me." Teens believe they would know if a stranger was trying to seduce them, Urie said. However, the solicitation doesn't always come across that clearly. "You might get that false sense of security, but after a few days you might feel more comfortable with that person," Urie said. "Expand your perspective to understand people you meet in the real world are different from people you meet on the Internet after you talk to them. Time doesn't equal trust when it comes to the Internet. You may not consider them a stranger -- but that doesn't mean they're a friend." Girls, in particular, tend to be overly trusting and believe the myth that it can lead to a good relationship, she noted. "It shows how a predator can really prey on their insecurity." http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/50402.html

Online Predators: Is Your Child Chatting with One? LAST UPDATE: 5/9/2006 10:57:47 PM Posted By: Maritza Nunez News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooter Tanji Patton signed on to a chat room Monday night posing as a 13 year old. Each bell that sounded was a stranger trying to reach her online. This is something that happens to your kids everyday. At this very minute, right now, there are 50,000 child predators online looking for their next victim. It's such a big problem that even the FBI says it can't keep up. So how do you protect your kids? We headed to Washington D.C. to find out how the FBI experts keep their own kids safe. It's the one place you know your kids are safe... your home. At least that's the way it used to be. "It's a real and present danger for parents." Arnold Bell runs the FBI's Cyber Crimes Against Children Unit headquartered in our nation's capital. FBI agents use a computer lab to track child predators and they get results, sometimes faster than they expect. These travelers are often very anxious to meet up with kids. "These guys will stop at nothing to achieve their ultimate goal," says Bell. And he says that goal is getting your kid... for sex. "It's a huge problem," says Bell. They not only know the right things to say to them online, but they know exactly where to find your kids. Like school web sites. An FBI online sting busted 23 year old Damian Mikrut. An investigator who helped bust Mikrut says, "He actually went looking online for girls from catholic schools." The FBI says Mikrut fantasized about the girls in uniform and made contact with several after finding their names on the school web site. Some local schools here might want to take note. We found a number of children's faces and names on some San Antonio school web sites. "There's no reason that schools need to put that online." John Shehan, with the National Center for Missing & Exploited children, says it's not safe to have kids' names and pictures online. Even if it is only first names. "There's a lot of information that these predators are storing and collecting to use for obviously terrible purposes," says Shehan. Experts say if your child's school is doing this, ask the administration to stop. As for what you as a parent can do, find out if your child has a web page on myspace.com or a blog on some of the other sites. The best way to do that is to install software on their computer that tracks all their key strokes and the sites they visit. Even Bell takes the necessary precautions to protect his children. "I tell my kids that there is no expectation of privacy on my computers. I pay for the he service. You can use them all you want, but I'm going in there. They have chat logs the programs that we use logs all their chats. I go in there and read that stuff." Cyber experts also advise parents to watch out for those popular webcams. "That is a worst case situation, a child with a webcam," says Shehan. Detectives say the predators love to talk to kids with webcams. "When we do the searches on their computer we'll see a lot of kids who are flashing," says one FBI investigator. "A lot of girls are flashing." "Kids tend to think they're safe because they're in their comfort zone. They're in their living room with home and family," adds Bell. But even one image sent by your child could end up on a stranger's computer. From there, it could literally go to anyone, anywhere. There's no getting it back. There is another warning sign that someone is working hard to get to your child. "Gifts are going to show up," says Shehan. "They're grooming them for a very terrible situation. And these individuals are in many instances, soliciting more than one child online." Finally, they say learn the lingo. Those odd abbreviations on your child's screen. Here are a few examples: IPN means 'I'm posting naked.' NIFOC means 'naked in front of computer.' P911 means 'my parents are coming.' LMIRL means 'let's meet in real life.' Click here to see a complete list of online acronyms If you have any reason to believe your child has been solicited by a predator online, there is a tip line available to you. You can also report anyone you believe may possess child pornography. Cyber Tip Line 1-800-843-5678 www.cybertipline.com The FBI tells News 4 WOAI a law enforcement agency will follow up on every lead they get. http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=F10A2156-8824-4E67-9D3B-3C2752484E39

Internet predators hunting next victims (Lexington) May 9, 2006 - Many parents are wondering how they can help protect their children from the dangers they face online. There's no question that the internet can expose teens to situations that would horrify parents. Donald Brink, 32, thought he was meeting a 13-year-old Lexington girl for sex. The "girl" was actually an undercover SLED agent. When Brink went to Lexington to meet the teen, he was arrested. In January, Brink was sentenced to eight years for sex crimes. Sanghoon Lee, 29, lived in Cayce. He was in the Midlands on a student visa when authorities say Lee solicited sex online from a girl he thought was 14. That happened last July. Lee also set up a meeting.. Instead of sex, Lee was busted by the Aiken County Sheriff's Department. His 10 year sentence was suspended to five years probation and a trip home to South Korea. In perhaps the most bone-chilling case so far, 52-year-old Steve Wayne Gunter from Columbia started sexual discussions on line with a girl he thought was 14, according to authorities. Gunter also traveled to Aiken to meet the teen for sex, and was arrested. An investigation into Gunter's past revealed child porn. Authorities say he had at least one image of a girl assumed to be 10-years-old. That's not all. Further investigation revealed Gunter met another young girl online, and this time it wasn't a SLED agent. Gunter pleaded guilty to charges that he repeatedly had sex with a 16-year-old Sumter girl. He also made videos of the two of them having sex. Gunter is serving 10 years for criminal solicitation of a minor. "Every time we put a new law enforcement officer online seaching for these predators, within hours they are solicited. It's scary. It's scary," says Trey Walker. Walker is with the Attorney General's office. The Attorney General is working with state law enforcement agencies establishing an internet predator task force that's been online for two years. The task force has made 19 arrests so far. Three people have pleaded guilty and 16 cases are pending. Part of the reason business is booming is, according to Walker, social networking sites like Tag and MySpace, "These social networking sites are petri dishes for perverts. These children go there and open up their personal lives for these predators to see, gain their trust and potentially attempt to lure them." Reported by Kara Gormley Posted 9:47pm by Chantelle Janelle http://wistv.com/global/Story.asp?s=4883001