Disgusting and Disturbed
Dateline aired a show earlier in the week and I just haven't been able to get it off my mind. It was about internet predetors. Dateline teamed up with a group called Perverted-Justice to bring awareness to the problem and to help get some pedophiles off the streets.
Perverted-Justice is a group of volunteers who set up profiles portraying themselves as 12 or 13 year old kids, then place themselves in chat rooms where children of this age typically hang out. They then wait (a frighteningly short period of time) to be approached by a pedophile. They engage in conversation with adults stating to be 18 or older who express an interest in conversing with 12 or 13 year olds. They weed out those looking for cyber sex and focus on the ones who actually want to MEET the child for sexual purposes.
When P-J teamed up with Dateline, they went ahead and scheduled a meeting with the pedophiles (who again, think they are meeting a 12 or 13 year old boy or girl). They used a house and told the person they were home alone. When the person showed up, Dateline confronted them in the kitchen and when the person then left, the police were waiting outside. Can you believe that in 3 days, 50 men showed up?!! They'd sent these "kids" nude photos and disgustingliy sexually expicit chats. And 50 is just the number that actually had the nerve to show up. I can't imagine how many they talked to. Also, that is just one area, not 50 from the US population - 50 from the area. One guy was a science teacher, one a rabbi, and one worked for the government in Homeland Security! Some were convicted sex offenders, some where still on probation. Unbelievable!
It was incredibly frightening. I'm glad my kids aren't old enough to be able to chat online. I will share a site though for anyone who reads this whose kids are online. The chat lingo has gotten so advanced that kids can communicate without getting caught up in any safety software a parent may have set up. Ever seen your kid type something about paw or pos? They're telling their fellow chatter that "parents are watching" or "parent over shoulder". This website is a chat lingo dictionary. www.noslang.com It's very interesting.
Anyway, it was quite a disturbing episode. I simply can't do the magnitude of it justice in this blog.
Perverted-Justice is a group of volunteers who set up profiles portraying themselves as 12 or 13 year old kids, then place themselves in chat rooms where children of this age typically hang out. They then wait (a frighteningly short period of time) to be approached by a pedophile. They engage in conversation with adults stating to be 18 or older who express an interest in conversing with 12 or 13 year olds. They weed out those looking for cyber sex and focus on the ones who actually want to MEET the child for sexual purposes.
When P-J teamed up with Dateline, they went ahead and scheduled a meeting with the pedophiles (who again, think they are meeting a 12 or 13 year old boy or girl). They used a house and told the person they were home alone. When the person showed up, Dateline confronted them in the kitchen and when the person then left, the police were waiting outside. Can you believe that in 3 days, 50 men showed up?!! They'd sent these "kids" nude photos and disgustingliy sexually expicit chats. And 50 is just the number that actually had the nerve to show up. I can't imagine how many they talked to. Also, that is just one area, not 50 from the US population - 50 from the area. One guy was a science teacher, one a rabbi, and one worked for the government in Homeland Security! Some were convicted sex offenders, some where still on probation. Unbelievable!
It was incredibly frightening. I'm glad my kids aren't old enough to be able to chat online. I will share a site though for anyone who reads this whose kids are online. The chat lingo has gotten so advanced that kids can communicate without getting caught up in any safety software a parent may have set up. Ever seen your kid type something about paw or pos? They're telling their fellow chatter that "parents are watching" or "parent over shoulder". This website is a chat lingo dictionary. www.noslang.com It's very interesting.
Anyway, it was quite a disturbing episode. I simply can't do the magnitude of it justice in this blog.
posted by SonSon at 10:31 PM
4 Comments:
It was very disturbing. It's actually caused quite a stir at my suburban middle school. Maybe that's a good thing...
Awareness is always the first step in protection. By nature kids want to explore and learn. The Internet can be a primary resource for that exploration. The problem is that there are always people who attempt to exploit our—and our children’s— inquisitiveness.
Oh, man, I saw BOTH of those Datelines, and I couldn't BELIEVE how many creeps are out there!
I applaud "Perverted Justice" for their tireless efforts, and our heroes in blue - the police, who managed to bring all those jerks down without punching them in the face, and even Dateline, for making us aware.
My kids are not and WILL NOT be allowed on chat - period.
I saw part of that and one they did a while back. It is disgusting and scaring for parents, grandparents, etc. I mean, we know that those weirdos are out there but to actually see them in their preditor mode, creeps me out even more. I hope everyone would realize the danger these wonders of technology can be when misused and that they keep track of their children very carefully.
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