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Topic: Protecting Our Children (Read 1461 times)

Rhune
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Protecting Our Children
« on: Jul 8^th, 2002, 3:15pm »

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LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Police are investigating schoolgirl Web sites because of fears they may be targeted by pedophiles offering gifts in return for photographs, a British newspaper reported on Sunday.

"British girls as young as 14 are inviting strangers to send them presents through their Web sites, sometimes offering intimate pictures in return," the Observer said.

According to the paper, the teen-age craze caught on when word got around among the girls that they could obtain expensive presents from older men by linking their Web sites to sites such as Felicite.com, which offers a wedding list service.

The Observer said Felicite.com suspended 100 accounts linked to schoolgirl sites last week after the murder of a 13-year-old girl, Christina Long, close to its office headquarters in Connecticut in the United States.

Police and child safety campaigners are said to be alarmed.

"It's a very worrying trend, and something we should be getting a more accurate picture of," the Observer quoted the head of Britain's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit as saying.

Last week, the unit led a series of raids in which about 50 suspected members of a pedophile "brotherhood" were arrested in seven countries.

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Addams
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Re: Protecting Our Children
« Reply #1 on: Jul 8^th, 2002, 9:50pm »

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As a mother of a daughter the things I read about the internet worry me. There are guidelines for street proofing our kids. Any guidelines for internet proofing our kids? I certainly have to learn how to extend the meaning of stranger to the internet.

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Rhune
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Re: Protecting Our Children
« Reply #2 on: Jul 8^th, 2002, 10:37pm »

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That's a good question.. how do we extend the meaning of "strangers" to the internet? There is just so much predatory stuff going on, with the net.. people taking advantage of kids.. kids being exposed to the wrong things. One of my husband's coworkers (a single mom) came home the other day to find out that her daughter had stolen her credit card number and used it to sign up for subscriptions to multiple porn sites and not normal stuff either...women with animals, hardcore bondage, etc. You have to wonder what this girl has been exposed to (probably via the net) to make her want to go to sites like that in the first place. Her mom only found out because the daughter isn't so computer savvy and used her mom's e-mail address, so when her mom got home she checked mail and found reciepts for the purchases. With so much porn spam, and much of it really sick, I wonder if a lot of kids are becoming desensities to the simple idea of a man and a woman together treating eachother romantically in bed. I don't recall ever seeing anything like a-guy-and-a-girl-just-having-normal-sex-together.com Wink

I worry about my 3 year old all the time. I keep my e-mail poen for work and like most people I get a lot of e-mail with pornography spam and many of them including graphic pictures right in the e-mail. Normally my son sticks to his computer games he's allowed to play.. occasionally a new message will come in and the computer blings and gets his attention and from time to time he's clicked on it, because it's gotten his attention. I have 3 times now caught him opening an e-mail and saying "look mama" and it's some graphic pornography picture. Now I'm not a prude by ANY means, but I don't want my 3 year old looking at that shit. I'm starting to become really angry when it arrives in my mail box each day, but feeling a little helpless in what to do about it.

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Rhune
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Re: Protecting Our Children
« Reply #3 on: Jul 19^th, 2002, 11:56am »

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SANTA ANA, California (CNN) -- Authorities have detained several people for questioning and are much closer to making an arrest in the killing of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion in California, the sheriff in charge of the case said Friday.

"We are significantly closer to nailing this guy, but we're not there yet," Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona said.

No one has been arrested, but authorities executed at least four search warrants overnight. The searches included four vehicles, three of them matching the description of the car driven by Samantha's kidnapper, he said..

Carona said investigators obtained the warrants based on tips from the public and physical evidence found at both the crime scene in Stanton, where Samantha was kidnapped Monday evening, and the Riverside County site where the girl's body was found less than 24 hours later.

He denied that any of the men questioned in the case were in police custody.

"In some cases they're in their own homes, we just keep a watchful eye on them," the sheriff said. "But they know we're there.

Carona refused to say whether authorities had any DNA evidence that would identify the suspect, but noted there was a lot of physical and forensic evidence, including "identifying marks" that haven't been released to the public.

Carona urged the public Thursday to continue phoning in tips, which he said were the best source of information investigators have in the case. He emphasized the reward in the case is up to $250,000.

More than 400 investigators on case
Samantha was snatched Monday as she played outside her home by a man in a car who said he was searching for his lost puppy. When Samantha expressed an interest, the man took her, kicking and screaming, and drove away.

Her naked body was found a day later in Riverside County, in plain view along a road to a popular hang-gliding spot, about 75 miles from where she was abducted. Authorities said the kidnapper spent several hours with her before sexually assaulting the girl and killing her.

More than 400 investigators have been working on her case, Carona said.

"We have received to this point in time over 1,000 leads from the public, and that's just at the task force," Carona said. "At our headquarters, the sheriff's headquarters, we probably have an equal number of leads that are being sifted through."

With the help of Samantha's 5-year-old playmate, who witnessed the abduction, police have described the kidnapper as Hispanic, 25 to 40 years old, with slicked-back hair and a thin mustache.

The abductor drove off in a light green, two-door car that may have been a Honda or an Acura, police believe.

Samantha's dad's plea to parents
On Thursday, the father of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion said he was "completely devastated" by her murder.

Derek Jackson, who has been living apart from the girl's mother, asked police to read a prepared statement for him.

"I loved her very much and I will miss her dearly. I had the most wonderful moments of my life while with her. She is such a sweet beautiful little girl and her love will live forever in my heart," the statement said.

He also urged parents everywhere to donate "whatever you have" to funds established for abducted children. And he implored them to go through role-playing and instruct their children how to respond when strangers approach.

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Irishlass
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Re: Protecting Our Children
« Reply #4 on: Jul 19^th, 2002, 10:32pm »

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Police have arrested 27 year old Alejandro Avila in the Runnion case.

Orange County sheriff, Michael Carona says he is 100% certain that Avila is the person who kidnapped and murdered Samantha Runnion.

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Addams
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Re: Protecting Our Children
« Reply #5 on: Jul 21^st, 2002, 8:54am »

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This story is so terribly tragic. They said it was as if the killer wanted to be caught. The friend who watched this happen is an excellent witness but truly no 5 year old should ever experience any of this - neither of them. Why? I ask, but no answer comes.

The police have taken two green cars and the fellow fits the description of the kidnapper. He also lived in the same complex and would know is way around it.

I pray for the parents of these children. I just can't stop hurting when I fell the loss of this child and how she must have suffered.

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Rhune
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Re: Protecting Our Children
« Reply #6 on: Jul 23^rd, 2002, 10:56am »

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PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Police and FBI ( news - web sites) agents searched on Tuesday for a 7-year-old girl who was snatched outside her grandmother's home in Philadelphia as she played with a 5-year-old friend.

In the fourth highly publicized U.S. child abduction in six months, Erica Pratt disappeared on Monday night in a poor section of southwest Philadelphia.

The child's playmate told police the abductor was a large black man who drove up with a companion in a white Buick or Cadillac. Fifteen minutes later, the child's grandmother began receiving telephone calls demanding a six-figure ransom for Erica's safe release.

"The white car pulled up, the 5-year-old witness stated that a heavyset black male wearing a white T-shirt and a baseball cap got out and grabbed the 7-year-old and carried her into the car. And the driver was shouting, 'C'mon, let's go!"' said police Inspector Bill Colarulo.

"The first call said, 'We want 150 (thousand dollars), or else we're going to kill your granddaughter."

Seven more calls demanding ransom followed. It was not clear whether attempts to trace the calls had turned up any fresh evidence, but police believe the abductors knew the family well enough to have the grandmother's phone number.

"I just want my child home. I just want to know what is going through your mind taking a 7-year-old from her family. You know?" Erica's mother, Serina Gillis, told local media.

The abduction came late in the same day that prosecutors in California filed kidnap, murder and sex crime charges against 27-year-old Alejandro Avila for last week's killing of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion, who was playing with a friend when she was abducted from outside her home. Her body was found suffocated beside a mountain road.

In June, 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was abducted at gunpoint from her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah. She has not been seen since.

In February, 7-year-old Danielle van Dam vanished from her bedroom in the San Diego suburb of Sabre Springs. After a four-week search, her badly decomposed body was found on a roadside. A neighbor, 50-year-old David Westerfield, is currently on trial for her murder.

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Rhune
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Good News at Last!
« Reply #7 on: Jul 23^rd, 2002, 11:19pm »

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Police: Abducted Girl Freed Herself
Tue Jul 23,11:13 PM ET
By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A 7-year-old kidnapped girl escaped her captors Tuesday night by chewing through duct tape binding her arms and legs, smashing a window and then calling to nearby playing children for help, police said.

One of the children rode a bike from the abandoned building where Erica Pratt was being held down the street to alert officers, police Lt. Michael Chitwood said. The girl had been grabbed, kicking and screaming, from in front of her home Monday evening.

Police were searching for two suspects late Tuesday. Chitwood said Erica had only minor injuries.

The girl had been left on a mattress in the basement of the building in northern Philadelphia with her arms and legs bound with duct tape, Chitwood said.

"She was eventually able to free herself from the duct tape, she broke through the basement door, she made her way to the first floor and she couldn't get out, so she smashed the window," Chitwood said. "And she summoned help of a couple of little kids who were playing in front of the house."

The children pulled Erica out of the window, and one of them rode a bike to alert the officers, Chitwood said.

Police said they were searching for James Burns, 29, and Edward Johnson, 23, who are considered suspects in the abduction. Earlier Tuesday, police had said the men were known to the girl's family and that their names had been provided by two witnesses.

Erica was playing Monday evening with her 5-year-old sister in front of their grandmother's rowhouse in southwest Philadelphia when two men drove up, called her by name and dragged her into their car as she screamed and resisted, witnesses told police said.

Less than 20 minutes later, Erica's grandmother and primary caregiver received the first of at least six calls from a man who threatened to kill the girl unless he received a $150,000 ransom, police said.

During one of the calls, police said the kidnappers put Erica on the phone and allowed her to speak briefly with her grandmother.

Residents said many adults in the neighborhood were down the street at a block party at the time of the abduction. The area is pockmarked with abandoned buildings and roamed at night by drug dealers.

Erica's mother, Serena Gillis, had pleaded for her safe return.

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Rhune
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Re: Protecting Our Children
« Reply #8 on: Jul 26^th, 2002, 1:32pm »

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ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - A 6-year-old Missouri girl disappeared near her home on Friday and police near St. Louis said they have issued an abduction alert and have begun an intensive search.

The child was identified as Cassandra "Casey" Williamson.

St. Louis County police said they issued an abduction alert and began a land, air and water search for the child. The girl's family lives in Valley Park southwest of St. Louis near the Meramec River, police said.

While an abduction has not been confirmed, the case drew attention because of a series of recent child kidnappings in the United States that have received extensive media coverage.

The girl's mother, Angela, told reporters that she, her husband, the missing girl and other family members had spent the night at a neighboring home.

She said she was separated from her husband but he had been living nearby in an attempt at reconciliation and to help her care for their family. She said the child had spent the night sleeping in the same room as her father.

The little girl, dressed in night clothes, may have left the house to return to her own in search of breakfast, she said. The child was not missed until her husband woke her up asking where she was, the tearful mother added.

The mother also said a man who had been staying in the house where she spent the night was being questioned by police.

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Rhune
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Re: Protecting Our Children
« Reply #9 on: Jul 26^th, 2002, 5:13pm »

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Body found, may be missing Missouri girl's
July 26, 2002 Posted: 5:50 PM EDT (2150 GMT)

VALLEY PARK, Missouri (CNN) -- Police Friday afternoon said they have found what appears to be the body of 6-year-old Cassandra "Casey" Williamson, who was reported missing this morning.

The girl's body hasn't been positively identified, said St. Louis County Chief Ron Battelle, "but we feel certain it's hers."

"We've also made an arrest of a suspect by the name of Johnny Johnson, a white male, 24, in the case and he is cooperating at this time," said the chief. "It appears as though he was the only one involved."

Battelle said Johnson has a minor arrest record, but would not elaborate.

The chief said crime scene technicians were still working to positively identify the body and get enough evidence to "hopefully put him in jail and maybe even the death penalty, which he probably deserves if he did in fact do this."

Casey was last seen wearing a white nightgown inside a neighbor's house around 7 a.m. by her father, Ernest Williamson, said Sgt. Bob Frohne of the St. Louis County Police Department.

Williamson got up to use the bathroom and when he returned, he saw that his daughter was missing, police said.

Also missing was a homeless man, whom they knew as Johnson, said the girl's mother, Angela Williamson. She said the man spent Thursday night on a couch in the neighbor's house.

The girl's parents are separated and her father had been staying in recent days at the neighbor's house so that he could help out with the family, his wife said.

"They wanted to spend the night with their daddy last night, so we all slept over there with him because my kids are like, Daddy's -- if Daddy's around, they don't want Mommy, you know?"

When he was unable to find his daughter, Williamson awakened his wife and asked her if she knew where Cassandra was, Mrs. Williamson said. "I said, 'I don't know. She was sleeping with you. What do you mean, where's Casey?' "

The woman then alerted her neighbors, and searched several of their homes, but did not find her daughter. "I just want my baby. I just want my baby," she wailed.

About 100 searchers spread out across a park area along the bank of the Meramec River, only a few blocks from the house located about 12 miles west of St. Louis. Tracking dogs from the Department of Corrections were brought in to help, and divers from the St. Louis Fire Department searched the river bottom. FBI agents also have been called in.

Battelle said police had been hopeful they would find Casey alive.

"Police officers take these things to heart, particularly when children are involved," he said.

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Rhune
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Re: Protecting Our Children
« Reply #10 on: Aug 9^th, 2002, 10:38am »

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45 children rescued in Web porn ring bust
August 9, 2002 Posted: 11:36 AM EDT (1536 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. and European law-enforcement officials have arrested 20 people who sexually abused their own children and traded photographs and tips over the Internet, the U.S. Customs Service said on Friday.

The cross-border sweep removed 45 children from their abusive parents, 37 of them in the United States, Customs said.

Authorities say the parents traded photos of themselves sexually abusing their own children and shared tips in online chat rooms.

Half of those arrested lived in the United States, while the rest lived in Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden and France.

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Re: Protecting Our Children
« Reply #11 on: Aug 9^th, 2002, 1:54pm »

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this so makes me want to vomit :barf:

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Rhune
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Re: Protecting Our Children
« Reply #12 on: Aug 9^th, 2002, 2:17pm »

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Well, it pisses me off and makes me feel quite violent towards those parents, but I'm very very happy to hear that 45 kids will no longer have to be molested or abused, and will be getting help. I find this to be a small victory in the ongoing battle to protect children. This is just one of dozens of kiddie porn rings they have busted in the last year and I am just thrilled to see them taking such strong action and nailing these guys. Let's hope the lawyers do a great job too and get handed good evidence, so none of these monsters get off.

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Re: Protecting Our Children
« Reply #13 on: Aug 9^th, 2002, 3:27pm »

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on Aug 9^th, 2002, 2:17pm, Rhune wrote:

Amen Rhune. I totally agree with all you have said. I only pray they never get to get to touch these kids again and that they are severely penalized. They should all get serious jail terms. Poor kids - and it's really hard on the kids to lose their parents too.l

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Rhune
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Re: Protecting Our Children
« Reply #14 on: Aug 9^th, 2002, 4:28pm »

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Sadly, I've known several that were glad to lose a parent or two.

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