A recent news article caught my eye in Ohio, when a 24 year old mom and her 3 year old daughter went missing. It happens the individual with them is currently wanted by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's Adult Parole Authority for violations of his supervision. The mom's alleged boyfriend, 27 year old male, was released from prison in Ohio and on the same day walked away from the halfway house and now a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Robbi Douglas Potter, is a Tier III sex offender released on May 28, 2009 after serving time for a third-degree felony conviction for sexual battery of a minor. Candace Watson, 24 mother of Haylee Elizabeth, age 3, are both believed to have been taken against their will. Candace's mother told police she was concerning for the safety of her daughter and granddaughter. Read full story...
From a posting on Candace's MySpace page they could possibly be camping in the southern part of Ohio. If anyone has information concerning the disappearance of Haylee, please contact the Crestline Police Department at 419-683-2222. An amber alert has not been issued in this case.
Predators have now found another way to get to children through their moms, by using parenting websites and forums. Lori Getz, author of the article has some great advice and examples of how this is done by the luring predators. Use the parenting websites and forums to gain the information you need, but don't use these websites to meet new people even if they have helped you out and never ever introduce your kids to someone who may be helpful to you from a website.
The decision today in the Lori Drew case reinforces our mission at KidsBeSafeOnline and in my new book The Five Dangerous Trends Concerning Kids, Technology and the Internet that it is more important than ever to educate parents about the dangers that can happen through technology and that awareness is power in the prevention of bad things that can happen to our children because of the technologies they use.
My heart goes out to Tina Meier and her family, and we must remember Tina was very instrumental as we passed the law in Missouri, Senate Bill 818 that protects Missouri children 17 and under from cyberharassment by an adult and most other states have adopted and passed similar legislation in their states as well.
We have to remember as parents, educators and as adults that prevention is key and by providing the information on a large scale will make great progress in bringing protection to children who use these types of technologies. Read about the Acquittal by Kim Zetter
Awareness, Education and Prevention - Is this not enough?
Multiple articles out today reported on StlToday.com, bnd.com and Wired.com another Missouri incident of cyberbullying by a ninth-grade girl is now in the limelight. The offender is in deep trouble with her school and the law for bullying another Missouri youth by using the Internet.
The ninth grader created a website containing inappropriate content and hate speech. The victim in the case reported the website to school authorities and they in turn notified law enforcement. For a school to call law enforcement the website had to contain some serious offensive content. The ninth grader faces serious consequences from the school which could be potential expulsion and possible harassment charges in Juvenile Court.
Is the message getting through to parents? These types of instances can be prevented with the right resources and tools in place and creating a dialogue with our children.
Are we doing the things we need to do to protect our youth? We've read the research, seen the statistics that cyberbullying among youth is out of control and overwhelmingly damaging to some youth. I just wonder if the message isn't getting out there to parents or are they ignoring it?
It is very easy these days for anyone to create a simple website and it's free. There are open source platforms that make web creation as easy as typing three paragraphs on a page. I encourage parents and educators to educate themselves, create an open dialogue with students and children, recognize the warning signs. If the above-mentioned youth had such hatred for another classmate in her school, there had to be signs of the conflict at home. Girls are not necessarily the silent types.
If the simple act of paying attention is too much, then put safeguards in place. Parental control software and educational resources are widely available and reasonably priced and one company provides it to parents for free!
It can really be that simple. Paying attention is key to prevention. Schools have had bully prevention policies and classes in place for quite some time, but we can't leave it all up to the schools.
Parents have the ultimate responsibility for the actions of their children, especially when there is deliberate intent to harm another.
Do you ever wonder if a particular website is safe for internet users? Do you have a website you want listed in the Safe and Responsible Website Directory? This site is home to thousands of sites that you can check their directory for safe internet use. To qualifiy your site please visit The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell Phone Communications. Place the seal on your website and tell the world your site is safe. Or check the directory for a safe site of interest. This seal displays to kids, parents, educators, etc that your site is 2.1C Safe & Responsible. http://www.iroc2.org/page/21c-safe-responsible-website
After two interviews with cyber crime detectives the following updated information is very important for parents, educators and adults.
Sexting is the act of taking, possessing or disseminating nude or partially nude images via digital device and distributing same and is punishable under Federal Law. Title 18 USC 2252, and 2256. It is important to understand the law and what it states exactly and how it can affect children who are sexting (excerpts of the statutes at the end of article).
What does this mean and what do we teach children?
Law enforcement has been very forthright and clear to communicate taking an image of any sexual nature, possessing that image or distributing that image is punishable under federal law.
We want to teach children sexting is a very serious crime. Law enforcement is mandated by federal law to investigate every image that comes under the violation of the above statutes.
Are kids taking Sexting seriously?
While children are not taking "sexting" seriously according to law enforcement they are tying up viable resources in local departments for the act of sexting. Continued investigations on sexting pull time and resources from local departments who are currently investigating cases of child molestation, abuse, pedophilia, child pornography and prevention of online predation. Read more on what to do...
