The following information comes from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, it helps parents identify behaviors that may indicate inappropriate activities on-line.

For further information, or to report incidents, please contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.

Statistics

• Only 1/3 of the households with Internet access are proactively protecting their children with filtering or blocking software.
  National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• 75% of children are willing to share personal information online about themselves and their family in exchange for goods and services.
  eMarketer
• About 25 percent of the youth who encountered a sexual approach or solicitation told a parent.
  Youth Internet Safety Survey
• By the end of 1998, more than 40 percent of all American homes had computers, and 25 percent had Internet access. This trend is expected to continue. Children and teenagers are one of the fastest growing groups of Internet users. An estimated 10 million kids are online today. By the year 2002, this figure is expected to increase to 45 million, and by 2005 to 77 million.
  Youth Internet Safety Survey
• One in five U.S. teenagers who regularly log on to the Internet say they have received an unwanted sexual solicitation via the Web. Solicitations were defined as requests to engage in sexual activities or sexual talk, or to give personal sexual information.
  Crimes Against Children Research Center
• One in 33 youth received an aggressive sexual solicitation in the past year. This means a predator asked a young person to meet somewhere, called a young person on the phone, and/or sent the young person correspondence, money, or gifts through the U.S. Postal Service.Youth Internet Safety Survey
• 77% of the targets for online predators were age 14 or older. Another 22% were users ages 10 to 13.
  Crimes Against Children Research Center
• 75% of the solicited youth were not troubled, 10 percent did not use chat rooms and 9 percent did not talk to strangers.
  Crimes Against Children Research Center
• Only 25% of solicited children were distressed by their encounters and told a parent.
  Crimes Against Children Research Center
• Only 17 percent of youth and 11 percent of parents could name a specific authority, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), or an Internet service provider, to which they could report an Internet crime.
  Youth Internet Safety Survey

Solutions

What can you do to minimize the chances of an on-line exploiter victimizing your child?

• Communicate, and talk to your child about sexual victimization and potential on-line danger.
• Spend time with your children on-line. Have them teach you about their favorite on-line destinations.
• Keep the computer in a common room in the house, not in your child’s bedroom. It is much more difficult for a computer-sex offender to communicate with a child when the computer screen is visible to a parent or another member of the household.
• Utilize parental controls provided by your service provider and/or blocking software. While electronic chat can be a great place for children to make new friends and discuss various topics of interest, it is also prowled by computer-sex offenders. Use of chat rooms, in particular, should be heavily monitored. While parents should utilize these mechanisms, they should not totally rely on them.
• Always maintain access to your child’s on-line account and randomly check his/her e-mail. Be aware that your child could be contacted through the U.S. Mail. Be up front with your child about your access and reasons why.
• Teach your child the responsible use of the resources on-line. There is much more to the on-line experience than chat rooms.
• Find out what computer safeguards are utilized by your child’s school, the public library, and at the homes of your child’s friends. These are all places, outside your normal supervision where your child could encounter an on-line predator.
• Understand, even if your child was a willing participant in any form of sexual exploitation, that he/she is not at fault and is the victim. The offender always bears the complete responsibility for his or her actions.

Additional Safeguards

• Instruct your children to never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone they meet on- line.
• Instruct your children to never upload (post) pictures of themselves onto the Internet or on-line service to people they do not personally know.
• Instruct your children to never give out identifying information such as their name, home address, school name, or telephone number.
• Instruct your children to never download pictures from an unknown source, as there is a good chance there could be sexually explicit images.
• Instruct your children to never respond to messages or bulletin board postings that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, or harassing.
• Instruct your children that whatever they are told on-line may or may not be true.

Further Resources

The FDLE Missing Children Information Clearinghouse

In response to the concern for missing children in Florida, the 1982 Florida Legislature appropriated funds to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for the establishment of the first state Missing Children Information Clearinghouse (MCIC) in the nation. The program provides a liaison between citizens, private organizations and law enforcement officials regarding missing children information.

The MCIC is located within the Division of Criminal Justice Information Services and is a central repository of information regarding missing children. The information is collected and disseminated to assist law enforcement agencies, public and private organizations and the citizens of Florida in locating missing children. The MCIC is utilized as a resource center and information exchange service, and complements the state and federal computerized missing persons files.

As part of the MCIC’s services, a toll-free telephone line (1-888-356-4774) is available twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week.

The FDLE Sexual Offender Predator Search System

A Florida law, effective 7/1/96, requires the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to maintain an updated list of Registered Sexual Predators in this state after a court has made a written finding designating them as a Sexual Predator as that term is defined by Florida statute.

Chapter 97-299, Laws of Florida, requires certain sex offenders to directly register with law enforcement or to have information compiled by the Department of Corrections, with the information to be provided to FDLE. Florida law makes that information available to the public. This site provides you with public information regarding Sexual Predators and Sex Offenders.