The Internet provides a vast array of information, fun and enrichment. But it also opens us to a world of online danger. Some material (such as sexually explicit material) may be simply offensive or annoying and inappropriate for children. However, other illegal material poses a more serious and harmful threat. Child pornography; luring a child (when an adult lures a child into a personal meeting); or cyber-stalking (for example, harassment through email) constitute illegal activities. Pedophiles and child pornographers come from all walks of life, transcending social, economic, ethnic or religious lines. Often, many child predators have jobs that bring them into frequent and close contact with children and juveniles. Pedophiles produce, collect, and use child pornography for their own sexual gratification using photographs, videotapes, films and printed material. Traditional child pornography still flourishes, however, today’s computer technology now enables predators to easily locate and communicate with each other. The Internet is widely used as a means to share ideas and schemes about luring and exploiting child victims; lull parents into a false sense of security about their presence in a child’s life; or openly discuss activities and desires. Technology also allows pedophiles to exchange images and photographs globally and instantly…as well as share the names and addresses of child victims and other pedophiles. The Internet enables pedophiles to access potential victims by:   ● using disguised identities for approaching children or teens ● entering chat rooms to identify and target victims ● building an internet relationship for future meetings and face-to-face ● contact identifying a victim and tracking down personal contact information    through their computer profile. Whether online or not, child pornography has just as lasting and devastating effect on the child victim as any other form of child abuse. Child pornography places the children being exploited in dangerous situations including contracting diseases, assault, rape, torture and death. It causes of sense of shame and guilt, as well as the fear that their family or friends might discover the images. Often it is this fear that makes the victim reticent to report the crime and/or testify in court against the predator. Although the online predator cannot be seen, it is important to remember that Internet crimes are still crimes and should be reported. If there is an immediate threat to your child, call 9-1-1 as with any emergency. If the situation is not an emergency, but you become aware of criminal activity that victimizes your child, contact the Santa Monica Police Department at 310-458-8491 or the SMPD Youth Services Division at 310-458-8931 or 310-458-2256. Many Internet crimes fall under Federal jurisdiction. Consider calling law enforcement agencies at this level as well: Reporting Child pornography, online luring, child prostitution and child sexual molestation.    National Center for Missing and Exploited Children    1-800-THE-LOST (843-5678)    http://www.Cybertipline.com  US Postal Inspection Service    http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/kid-porn.htm  US Department of Justice, Criminal Division    Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section    John C. Kenney Bldg., Ste 600    10th and Constitutional Ave., NW    Washington, DC 20530    202-514-1026    http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime Reporting Child Luring    Federal Bureau of Investigation-Los Angeles Field Office    11000 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024    310-477-6565    http://losangeles.fbi.gov  or http://www.fbi.gov/  Reporting Child Pornography    US Customs Service, Los Angeles Port    300 S. Ferry St., Room 2037    Terminal Island, CA 90731    310-514-6231 or 1-800-BE-ALERT Report suspicious websites, servers, chatrooms or individuals by emailing relevant information to:    International Child Pornography Investigation  and Coordination Center    icpicc@customs.sprint.com  PLEASE NOTE! Downloading or copying child pornography for ANY reason (even for evidentiary purposes) is a crime in the United States. Instead, write down the web address or URL, name and location of chat room, Internet protocol address or email address only to law enforcement personnel. RECOGNIZING AND SOLVING ONLINE TROUBLE Don’t blame or punish your child if he or she tells you about a strange or scary online encounter. The best way to prevent crime on the Internet is education…work with your child or teen to learn about their Internet use and to keep from it from happening again. Sara, 10 Deja, 9 Get involved with your kids’ online experiences. Place the computer in an area that makes monitoring easy. Periodically check your kids’ online activities (check bookmarks, cache or history) and length of time online. Install children’s blocking software to help eliminate the access of inappropriate material. If you don’t already use it, learn how to use the computer—it will make monitoring it easier for you. Jessica, 9 Juan, 7 Teach your kids to make safe choices and to recognize problems when they see them. Explain that online friends and buddies should not be treated like their friends in real life—online identities are not always what they appear to be. Tell your kids not to reveal any personal information (addresses, school names, names of family and friends, phone numbers), which could lead an online “buddy” to your door. Michelle, 8 Artwork created by kids at the Santa Monica Police Activities League.   Click to view more artwork. The Internet provides a lot of good entertainment and gives families a learning tool with vast amounts of information—make sure you are there to help them attain it safely. For more online safety tools and resources, check out: http://www.getnetwise.org. GetNetWise is a public service provided by a coalition of Internet industry corporations and public interest organizations. Click for more information on ► Preventing Child Abuse ◄

This page was last modified on 01/26/2008