After I posted my POV to the thread regarding the child molester being drafted by an MLB team, it made me think of another issue that is and has become a very hot topic and is an item that ALL parents and grandparents can assist in. I'm talking about internet predators and crimes.
Just in the past ten years (and more before that), I have been involved in several cases, both as a first contact and also an Investigator of internet crimes against children under 18 years of age. Although it is very hard to convince our children and grandchildren of the dangers that are out there due to the fact that mainly because they don't believe that it can or will happen to them. These predators continue to lurk through the internet and primarily the social media sites for young, unsuspecting kids that will buy into almost anything. Many of these relationships that are developed through the social media sites end up in very sad situations, including death.
As adult parents and grandparents, I believe that we need to continue to remind children and grandchildren of the dangers that are attached to meeting and making new friends that they have no knowledge of. In many of the cases that I have investigated, so many of these predators have taken on identities that make them appear to be trustworthy, important people or someone that a child may be envious of, like a professional entertainer, surfer, gamer, biker, etc., and yet, nothing could be further from the truth. By using fraudulent means of using Photo Shop and making fraudulent copies of degrees from major universities, they can make themselves appear to be someone that they are not.
Not long ago, I investigated a case that involved a young girl that had received her first cell phone when she turned 13 years old. This was something that her single Mom told me that she had resisted in doing for as long as she could, but when "all of the other kids have one" it's hard to keep telling your child "No." Not long after she got her phone, she, of course, signed up for the most popular social media account. (You know which one I am talking about, I just cannot print it.) It was only a few weeks later that she received a friend request from a young boy that claimed to be a guitar player for an up and coming band. They had spoken back and forth through the social media site for a few weeks when he had also told her that he had an aunt, uncle and two cousins that lived near her and also all the while that he was talking to her, he would tell tell her how pretty she was and how he liked her earrings, makeup, hair etc. Pretty soon afterwards, he began to ask her to start sending him more provocative pics and at first she resisted, but then when he assured her that because they was so much distance between them, that there would be no harm for her to do that, she conceded.
And, finally, after a few weeks of coaxing, she sent him a picture of her unclothed from the waist up. About a week later, he told her that he was going to visit his relatives near her home and that he would try to borrow his uncle's truck and drive over to her town, so they could meet. She agreed and within about two weeks later, the rendezvous was prearranged. She told her parents that she was going to her girlfriend's house to study, but never came home. It was maybe 2-3 months later that two hunters found what was left of her body in a pile of brush and called the police. This is not an exclusive story. It has been repeated several times and seems to be a molester's favorite MO to get the child alone.
After several weeks of obtaining search warrants and checking phone records and text messages, we were able to locate this "boy," which turned out to be a 33 year old family man with one child of his own. After doing a forensic sweep of his pickup truck, we found the girl's DNA from hair, broken off nails and blood samples that were left behind. He took a plea deal to avoid the death penalty, which netted him life in prison without the possibility of parole. This sentence did not bring closure to the family, but having their daughter's remains returned so that they may give her a proper burial seemed to mean so much more than even knowing that he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
So, my advice to all parents and grandparents is that even though your children and/or grandchildren may think that you are being a nag about this subject, keep pontificating the message anyway. If awareness saves only one child, it has been worth it.
Just in the past ten years (and more before that), I have been involved in several cases, both as a first contact and also an Investigator of internet crimes against children under 18 years of age. Although it is very hard to convince our children and grandchildren of the dangers that are out there due to the fact that mainly because they don't believe that it can or will happen to them. These predators continue to lurk through the internet and primarily the social media sites for young, unsuspecting kids that will buy into almost anything. Many of these relationships that are developed through the social media sites end up in very sad situations, including death.
As adult parents and grandparents, I believe that we need to continue to remind children and grandchildren of the dangers that are attached to meeting and making new friends that they have no knowledge of. In many of the cases that I have investigated, so many of these predators have taken on identities that make them appear to be trustworthy, important people or someone that a child may be envious of, like a professional entertainer, surfer, gamer, biker, etc., and yet, nothing could be further from the truth. By using fraudulent means of using Photo Shop and making fraudulent copies of degrees from major universities, they can make themselves appear to be someone that they are not.
Not long ago, I investigated a case that involved a young girl that had received her first cell phone when she turned 13 years old. This was something that her single Mom told me that she had resisted in doing for as long as she could, but when "all of the other kids have one" it's hard to keep telling your child "No." Not long after she got her phone, she, of course, signed up for the most popular social media account. (You know which one I am talking about, I just cannot print it.) It was only a few weeks later that she received a friend request from a young boy that claimed to be a guitar player for an up and coming band. They had spoken back and forth through the social media site for a few weeks when he had also told her that he had an aunt, uncle and two cousins that lived near her and also all the while that he was talking to her, he would tell tell her how pretty she was and how he liked her earrings, makeup, hair etc. Pretty soon afterwards, he began to ask her to start sending him more provocative pics and at first she resisted, but then when he assured her that because they was so much distance between them, that there would be no harm for her to do that, she conceded.
And, finally, after a few weeks of coaxing, she sent him a picture of her unclothed from the waist up. About a week later, he told her that he was going to visit his relatives near her home and that he would try to borrow his uncle's truck and drive over to her town, so they could meet. She agreed and within about two weeks later, the rendezvous was prearranged. She told her parents that she was going to her girlfriend's house to study, but never came home. It was maybe 2-3 months later that two hunters found what was left of her body in a pile of brush and called the police. This is not an exclusive story. It has been repeated several times and seems to be a molester's favorite MO to get the child alone.
After several weeks of obtaining search warrants and checking phone records and text messages, we were able to locate this "boy," which turned out to be a 33 year old family man with one child of his own. After doing a forensic sweep of his pickup truck, we found the girl's DNA from hair, broken off nails and blood samples that were left behind. He took a plea deal to avoid the death penalty, which netted him life in prison without the possibility of parole. This sentence did not bring closure to the family, but having their daughter's remains returned so that they may give her a proper burial seemed to mean so much more than even knowing that he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
So, my advice to all parents and grandparents is that even though your children and/or grandchildren may think that you are being a nag about this subject, keep pontificating the message anyway. If awareness saves only one child, it has been worth it.
