Archive
Detective warns of Internet dangers
Kacie Woody, a 13-year-old girl from Greenbrier, Ark., was murdered the night a man she had met on the Internet, in a Christian chat room, drove to her home and kidnapped her as she sat alone.
Kacie thought of Dave as a friend and innocently provided Dave with personal details of her life, including her phone number and address. Dave was 47 years old, instead of 18 years old, as he had told Kacie.
It’s a story Jim Murray shares along with a warning to parents whose children frequent chat rooms or sites such as MySpace.com. Murray believes parents should be aware of Kacie Woody’s story, remembering her as the girl whose life was taken by an Internet predator.
Murray, a detective with the Diamond Police Department, presented a workshop on Internet safety to parents at Carl Junction High School last week where he shared information and tips on how to keep children safe:
Keep the computer in a room other than the child’s bedroom, so you can monitor what your child is doing, and for how long.
Set up guidelines and an agreement with your child about the use of the computer, including appropriate schedules and durations.
Understand the services your child uses online. If you do not understand them, have your child teach you about them.
Encourage your child never to give out any personal information.
When discussing your child’s day, be sure to ask about time spent online.
Remind your children never to meet anyone they have met online without your permission and without your presence.
Make sure to learn about everyone your child meets online, and discuss these relationships with your child.
“Parents should ask themselves, ‘What can I do to develop a healthy relationship with my child?’ They should have open communication with their child,” Murray said.
Connie Bryant of Carl Junction has an 11-year-old who uses the computer at home.
“My daughter Katie uses instant messaging to get on chat sites. We have also put the cyber sitter program on our computer so we can control what can come over the Internet and we can monitor what she is seeing and sending if necessary,” Bryant said.
Murray also provides a list of warnings that your child may be at risk online:
Your child spends large amounts of time online, especially at night.
You find pornography on your child’s computer.
Your child is receiving phone calls from people you don’t know, or is making phone calls, sometimes long distance, to numbers you do not recognize.
Your child receives mail, gifts or packages from people you do not know.
Your child turns the computer monitor off or quickly changes the screen on the monitor when you come into the room.
Your child becomes withdrawn from the family.
Your child is using an online account belonging to someone else.
“One of the things I really stress is that parents should keep the computer in an open space and know who their online friends are,” Murray said.
Rachel Kubicek writes for The Joplin (Mo.) Globe.
