Officials warn parents of online predators

By Jamie Rogers
Morning News Reporter
Published: November 29, 2008

Children might be targets for online predators but authorities who arrest sex offenders say it’s the adults who are responsible for protecting their children from becoming online prey.

Florence County deputy Scotty Dangerfield, a sex offender registry investigator, said children as young as 10 have been victimized online by adults.

As many as one in seven children receive a sexual solicitation online each year, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

“We do have cases of that nature that happen here in Florence County,” Dangerfield said. “Sometimes the suspects are actually within this county, and sometimes they could actually be residing anywhere in the world, really.”

When communicating with someone online, you don’t know where they are — they could tell you they’re in another state or another area and actually be on the next street, he said.

A person commits the offense of criminal solicitation of a minor when he communicates with someone younger than 18 in an attempt to persuade them to participate in sexual activity. Full Story