A 13-year-old from Florida meets a 22-year-old man and they both go to a motel. A 14-year-old from North Carolina is abducted by a 38-year-old man. What both of these cases have in common is that the men in question were online predators. In the Florida case, the teen met the person online. In the North Carolina case, the man communicated with the teen via her school-issued computer. Both teens have been reunited with their families.
As kids and teens have been at home during the pandemic, they are spending more time online. With that comes increased risk of communicating with an online predator. In fact, online sexual abuse of children and teens has increased dramatically nationally since the start of the pandemic, and these cases show how easy it is to become a victim of online predators.
The problem is happening in Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs, including Bucks County. The internet is a haven for predators to lure children of all ages. What begins as “friending” by adults through social media platforms and gaming sites moves into “grooming” – the seemingly innocent process of building a trusting (and secret) relationship.
Predators often present themselves online as an alias, such as a 50-year-old man whose online “selfies” and language styles are that of a 14-year-old cute boy, or someone who poses as a gaming expert who can show a child how to improve his/her gaming technique. That often leads to asking for inappropriate photos, or even inviting children to meet in person.
These threats make educating kids about internet safety all the more important. The trouble is that the internet is evolving at a dizzying pace. Just when a parent masters one app, their child has moved on to the next “cool” app.
Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA) Bucks County offers education programs on internet safety, human trafficking and child abuse prevention for children and parents, currently available through a virtual platform. NOVA also provides other services to support, counsel and empower victims of sexual assault and other serious crimes in Bucks County.
NOVA has these tips for parents:
– Talk honestly, openly and patiently with your children. Stay calm if children ask questions, even if they seem scary or you feel upset or angry. Positive conversations will reduce the likelihood of children keeping secrets.
– Set rules that include unannounced reviews of your child’s online sites.
– Model the online behavior you want your children to use.
– Get help. These are challenging times. Reach out to NOVA and other local sexual assault and child abuse prevention organizations.
Visit novabucks.org/ for more information.
