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Online Sites Pose Dangers for Kids

Posted on: Saturday, 25 March 2006, 15:00 CST

By Heather J. Carlson, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.

Mar. 25--KASSON -- When Julie Maxon learned Kasson police had arrested several suspected online sexual predators, the mother of two says it was a frightening reminder.

"It's kind of scary to think that is going on in the small towns," the Mantorville resident said.

Seven men were charged in Dodge County District Court this week with felony solicitation of children following an online sting operation conducted last weekend Kasson police and Dodge County sheriff officers.

As part of the undercover investigation, officers posed as 13- and 14-year-old girls on an Internet chat room. It didn't take long for these officers to be approached adult men, said Kasson Police Chief David Johnson.

"In just a matter of minutes, they were being solicited, hit on and being talked to with inappropriate language," Johnson said.

These latest arrests should serve as a sobering reminder to parents about the dangers of online predators, said Assistant Dodge County Attorney Gary ReMine.

"When you have the Internet you have invited the world into your home," ReMine said. "You must supervise your children."

One in five children participating in a 2000 national survey reported they had been sexually solicited online.

The Youth Internet Survey, conducted the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, also found that one in 33 children had received an aggressive solicitation involving gifts, phone calls or requests to meet.

Advice to parents

Given the danger, it is critical that parents monitor their children's Internet usage, said Neil Nelson, commander of the Minnesota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

"The predators are going to hang out where the kids are at. It used to be the shopping malls or it used to be the park," Nelson said. "Well guess what? The kids are on the Internet right now, and that's where the predators are going to be."

Nelson recommends that parents make sure computers are set up in a busy area of the home so that parents can keep any eye on what their children are doing.

He said it's also important to monitor the Web sites children visit.

"We have always asked our kids when the leave the house, 'Where are you going and who are going to be with?' That's what parents do," Nelson said. "When it comes to the Internet, parents need to say, 'What sites are you going to and who are you talking to?'"

Another precaution parents can take, he said, is to talk with their children about the dangers of online predators and the importance of not sharing any personal information with strangers online.

Eye-opening

It's also important for parents to realize that sexual predators are often willing to travel long distances to meet their victims, ReMine said.

"You may live in the boonies, but they will come to your daughter." he said.

Kasson Police Chief Johnson says his department's recent sting operation opened his eyes to the number of sexual predators using the Internet.

"The part that bothers me," Johnson said, "is if it's happening in our smaller town, how many other smaller towns is it happening in, and how many other juvenile victims are out there?"

In the future, he says his department hopes to do more undercover work targeting online sexual predators. But he said it probably will be awhile, because of all the publicity surrounding the department's latest operation.

"With all the media coverage that we're receiving now, even if we're on the Internet probably no pedophile is going to respond to anyone from Kasson," Johnson said.

On the Net:

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children:

www.missingkids.com

Minnesota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force:

www.stpaul.gov/depts/police/icac/icac.html

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Copyright (c) 2006, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Post-Bulletin

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