By Rebecca Seed
NewsChannel 3
Do you really know what your kids are doing on their computers? Washington focused in on internet child sex exploitation today and you might be surprised at how easy it is for your own child to be victim. It's a growing problem across the U.S., including here in Riverside County.
During a hearing on internet child sex exploitation, 19-year-old Justin Berry told members of Congress what happened after he got a webcam for his computer, at age 13.
“The webcam, I hoped, would help me meet other teenagers online, maybe even find a few girls my age. That never happened.”
Instead, Berry was contacted by sexual predators online, who lured him into the world of internet child pornography. For the next five years, he ran a pornographic website, using his webcam.
“While I did not comprehend the magnitude of what was happening when I was 13, as I grew older, I progressively became corrupted and acted in shameful ways.”
Here in Riverside County, 51 people were recently arrested for being part of a child internet sex ring. Corporal Dennis Gutierrez says children are huge targets.
“Before, we used to tell our kids be careful the boogeyman on the corner. Now, because of the internet, we're inviting these bad people into our living rooms and into our children's bedrooms.”
We asked local teenagers about their internet use and they admitted that strangers could easily find them through the popular AOL Instant Messenger, or MySpace.com.
“Most people have digital cameras and they just post pictures.”
“Some younger girls just post up pix of themselves all over on sites.”
Gutierrez says the best way to protect your child is to keep a tight watch over what they're doing on the computer.
“Parents have to be more involved in their children's lives, they should be asking them what are you doing, what are you doing in your room.”
But according to the teenagers we talked to, parents aren't paying much attention to what kids do online.
“It's so easy to make a site and get on there and not tell them.”
“Unless they have full control over their kids, they're not going to know about it.”
But full control over your kids is just what law enforcement says is necessary to keep children safe.
