Internet safety is vital in protecting your children

Intermountain Catholic

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Parents participate as Cynthia Stonebraker (left), education specialist for the Attorney General's Office, explains how to protect their children and teens from Internet predators. IC photo by Christine Young

DRAPER — Parents and students learned valuable information such as, "Love is not a leash," "Find out where your child has been on the internet," and "Wear your seat belt, it can save your life," at Juan Diego Catholic High School Jan. 31.

The Home and School Association sponsored Healthy Lifestyles Awareness Night. The evening was divided into four 45-minute sessions on the topics: Internet Scams and Predators, Dating Violence/School Violence, Teen Driving, Drugs and Alcohol, Students Against Destructive Driving, and Knowledge of Eating Disorders.

Cynthia Stonebraker, education specialist for the Utah Attorney General’s Office said her goal is to help the public become aware of the dangers that exist on the Internet.

"The Internet is an integral part of our lives, and one of the most amazing tools for education and sharing information, but the Internet can be used improperly," said Stonebraker. "We protect children and teenagers by using pro-active investigative techniques. Our officers are online, in chat rooms on social networking sites, pretending to be children and teens between the ages of 11 and 16. Predators are approaching us wanting to meet to have sex.

"Our officers do not bring up the subject of sex, and we do not suggest to meet," she said. "We do not use actors or models, which can jeopardize real children. We investigate the calls we receive from spouses who say they have found child pornography on their computers, or from parents who say their children have met someone through the Internet and have been sexually assaulted."

Stonebraker travels all over the state of Utah talking to parent groups and school-age children about Internet safety.

"Internet predators are a problem we are not going to arrest our way out of," said Stonebraker. "We seem to get only about one percent of the Internet predators, and to be honest, we just catch the stupid ones. We partner with other state and local law enforcement agencies, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). There are 46 Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces throughout the country."

Stonebraker said peer-to-peer file sharing is what predators are using to share pornography. Law enforcement agencies and credit card companies have tried to stop child pornography from being available for purchase on the Internet, so predators are sharing it for free. Utah is number one in the nation for home computer use, and number five in the nation for home Internet access. Utah has a greater number of children per capita, so Utah is fertile ground for Internet predators.

"Predators communicate their methodologies with other offenders on numerous sex adult philosophy sites on the Internet," said Stonebraker. "They promote adult sex with juveniles and get a real sense they are not alone. They find mutual support, which allows them to rationalize their behavior."

The Internet has increased a predator’s opportunity to meet victims all over the world. Both the predator and the child feel a sense of security and anonymity on the Internet. Children will talk with strangers online about things they would not talk with their friends about face-to-face. In the past, it would take a predator a long time to groom a victim, now a predator can meet many children in one night.

The grooming process is basically manipulation. It varies, but it can be giving a child sympathy or gifts such as an iPod®, compact disks, or letting a child drive a car in exchange for sex. Predators befriend children by telling them what they want to hear.

Stonebraker said predators ask for the child’s phone number and call them so parents have to be aware of the phone numbers on their phone bills, and they need to track the text messages children are sending and receiving. The communication from a predator will become more sexually graphic as time goes on, and there is no doubt as to what the predator’s intention is to do with the child. Parents need to save those chats because that is how law enforcement agencies build their cases.

MySpace.com and other social networking sites are the antithesis of Internet safety. Children and teens are posting a photo of themselves in school uniforms giving the school’s colors, where they live, and their age. A predator can quickly search and find the school the child would go to, and go to the school website and find out the child’s first and last name. All this information makes these sites a haven for sex predators and child molesters. There are a number of social networking sites with which parents have to become familiar.

Parents should establish rules for Internet use including the sites your children can go to, who they can talk to on-line, how long can they be on-line, and if they can go to a friend’s house and use the Internet. The computer with Internet access should be kept in a common area, not in a child’s bedroom. No child or teenager should have unsupervised access to a webcam.

"What I mean by supervised, is a parent should stand behind them when they use the webcam because that is how a child pornographer or pedophile can send pornographic images to your child," said Stonebraker. "It would be even more horrific if your child, in a moment of weakness, took some pictures of him or herself and sent those to a predator."

Stonebraker said images on the Internet are there forever. Be informed and learn as much as you can about the Internet by taking classes, or ask your children, they are great teachers. Make use of security options, and do not rely on software or on Internet service providers to protect your children. Learn chat room lingo such as wuf, which is where are your from. This is something predators ask immediately. Other acronyms include TOS, which is teacher over shoulder, and PAW, parents are watching.

Stonebraker said parents need to communicate with their children, and talk with them about the real dangers of the Internet, and about sexual assault, abduction, death, what is personal information, and why it should be kept safe and never be given out. Check your children’s e-mail addresses, and discuss the importance of them telling you if they are approached or solicited for sex, or if something makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused because it can lead to child pornography.

An Internet website will be unveiled the week of Feb. 26. It is www.netsafeutah.org. There will also be a one-hour broadcast special on Internet Safety Feb. 26, at 9 p.m. on KUED, for parents who are unable to attend workshops such as was offered at Juan Diego. Parents can also call the Attorney General’s Office for resource packets on Internet Safety.

To learn more about Internet guidelines, visit www.cybertipline.com and www.NetSmartz.org, or call 1-800-The-Lost, or (1-800-843-5678).