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DiGirolamo: The predator playbook every parent needs to know about
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, National, Top Stories

DiGirolamo: The predator playbook every parent needs to know about

By John DiGirolamo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Internet is a 24\7 how-to manual. Unfortunately, it’s also available for predators to gather advice to target and manipulate your child. All in a matter of seconds, simply by asking. Staca Shehan, Vice President at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children recently said, “We're also seeing offenders enter questions asking for guides or tutorials on how to groom or recruit children and do it more efficiently.” The following summarizes the ways predators go after your kids: Predator Grooming Tactics: Victim Targeting: Constantly seek children and teens to interact with. It is quick and easy to find others online. Predators seek anyone who is vulnerable and willing to interact in a chat room, on social me...
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DiGirolamo: Teen sexting—What every parent needs to know
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, National, Top Stories

DiGirolamo: Teen sexting—What every parent needs to know

By John DiGirolamo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice How Teens Make It Worse: Taylor Swift wrote that when you’re fifteen, and someone tells you they love you, you’re going to believe them. Almost twenty years later, a teen’s definition of love and what’s fun and flirty now includes sending nude images.  The number one activity where teens contribute to their own detriment is sexting. According to the nonprofit Fight the New Drug, most teens have viewed pornography, with the average age of exposure at eleven years old. If explicit images are viewed frequently and at a young age, sending and receiving nude pictures become normalized. Over 90% of teens have sent or received explicit images by the time they graduate high school. 53% of boys and 39% of girls believe pornog...
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DiGirolamo: This is how a predator grooms your son in under an hour
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, National, Top Stories

DiGirolamo: This is how a predator grooms your son in under an hour

By John DiGirolamo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Perhaps you have a son and think you don’t need to worry about online predators. Think again. Typically, girls are targeted on social media accounts for either explicit content or coerced to meet in person for a sexual encounter. It’s different for boys, who are usually targeted for money. These blackmail situations are criminal offenses, commonly termed “sextortion.” This is What a Predator’s Playbook Looks Like: A criminal will set up a profile with a picture of an attractive college age female. The picture will be provocative and eye-catching, so a teenage boy won’t think twice about accepting the social connection. They’ll make contact online through social media accounts such as Snapchat, Instagram and especially...
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DiGirolamo: Undercover as a 13-year-old, an officer finds what parents fear most
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, National, Top Stories

DiGirolamo: Undercover as a 13-year-old, an officer finds what parents fear most

By John DiGirolamo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice You wouldn’t let your middle schooler wander the mall by herself, so why would you let her wander the Internet alone? If your child has online access, then every predator all over the world potentially can contact your kid.  Is this a risk that parents should be worried about? First, it’s important to understand why predators are on the Internet, online games and social media. Predators are after kids for several reasons: First, to obtain explicit material. Second, to extort someone for money and third, to meet for a sexual encounter.  Frequently, the predator may be seeking a combination of the three. Dawn Hawkins, CEO for National Center on Sexual Exploitation noted on X (formerly Twitter), “Child sexual ab...
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