What S.C. parents need to know about online predators
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - There are some conversations that could be uncomfortable between parents and their children – but they’re are important to keep kids and teens safe online.
That’s the message from federal prosecutors after the arrest of an Ohio man who’s accused of exploiting and stalking multiple minors on social media – including one in South Carolina.
“Someone in another state, in their own house, can commit a crime in South Carolina without ever leaving that state, without ever coming into our community,” said Elliott Daniels, assistant U.S. attorney in South Carolina.
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Both the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI say these crimes – involving minors being sexually exploited online – are happening more and more often.
“Children are comfortable in their home. They’re on devices, they’re on gaming platforms they’re comfortable with, and so they feel safe. They’re not as guarded as if they were in a public place, worried about strangers,” said FBI Special Agent Jackie Hamelryck.
A federal grand jury recently indicted 21-year-old Jack Davis on six felony counts – charging him with cyberstalking, coercion and enticement of minors, and production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material.
Federal prosecutors say one of his victims lives in South Carolina.
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“The common thing that we see throughout these cases are that offenders know what these minors and these children want to hear: They want to feel important. They want to feel appreciated. They want to feel significant. They want to feel special,” Daniels said.
The indictment alleges Davis posed as a minor on at least four online platforms – including Snapchat and Instagram – and used more than 100 different names so he could talk to minors and get them to send explicit content of themselves – child sex abuse material.
Federal prosecutors allege Davis then sent that content to other people – including the minors’ classmates – and threatened at least one of his victims and their family – with messages like, “I won’t stop until you’re dead.”
Davis was arrested in Ohio, brought to South Carolina and is now in jail, pending trial.
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“Without children being willing to come forward, without parents being willing to have uncomfortable conversations with the children in their lives, we wouldn’t be able to bring these cases. … We’ll bring every resource we have to bear to protect these kids,” Daniels said.
The FBI encourages families to remind their children that people aren’t always who they say they are online.
And that images and videos they send to someone privately *can be made public – and can’t always be retrieved once they’re out there.
“It’s important for parents to be their child’s best advocate so that that child feels comfortable coming forward if they do become a victim of sextortion or being sexually exploited online,” Hamelryck said.
The FBI says the best defense is education – especially for parents to educate themselves about the social media and gaming apps their kids use – and what safeguards they can put in place to protect them.
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