Just an FYI for Friday, PC Pandora works on both sides of the Atlantic and can be used by ANY parent to keep kids safe online…

November 19, 2009
Scots cops track more than 200 online sex beasts in crackdown
Paul O’Hare, Daily Record

MORE than 200 paedophiles who were grooming children for sex on the internet have been netted by cops after the biggest investigation of its kind in Scotland.

The beasts used sites such as Bebo, Facebook and MSN to snare 150 kids, some as young as eight.

And Central Scotland Police last night said the alarming results of Operation Defender should act as a wake-up call to parents across the country.

Detective Chief Inspector Gordon Dawson warned: “The ultimate aim of these people is to meet kids and rape them.”

The operation identified 1700 men who engaged in online sex chat with children.

And 215 of them swapped sexual material with their victims – including webcam footage. Up to 40 live in Scotland.

Ten top level offenders from Scotland and five from the rest of the UK have been charged with offences including rape, sexual assault and grooming. The others are expected to be tracked down in the coming weeks.

Detectives also identified 150 victims, mainly girls, aged eight to 15.

More than 4000 sexually explicit chat logs and 2000 email addresses used by predators were uncovered.

The probe involved Interpol, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and the National Sex Crimes Unit.

Chief Superintendent Gordon Mackenzie said parents need to be aware kids can go online using games consoles and 3G phones.

MrMackenzie said: “This is a wakeup call for parents and they need to think about the multimedia that their kids are using.

“What we have found when we have spoken to victims is that the kids are curious and fearless and the adults are pretty clueless.”

He said predators target chat groups, such as MSN, and social networking sites such as Bebo. One Scottish predator had more than 1000 instant messenger contacts.

Mr Mackenzie said: “They use a scattergun approach and try to talk to as many kids as possible.

“If one vulnerable child responds, the chat starts off pretty normal but within minutes it turns to lurid sexual chat.”

Police said webcams are the main means of engagement between the beasts and their victims. The material exchanged ranges from naked pictures to footage of sex acts.

The groomers also ask children to do sexual things on webcam – then record the footage and pass it on.

The perverts move on to contact their victims by text or email – and will even put the child in touch with a beast who lives nearby.

The force started analysing social networking sites last year with a view to combating gang violence. But the probe soon led to internet grooming.

Mr Dawson said the operation has changed the force’s view of the threat. He said: “What this has shown us is that the paedophile is in your living room.

“Your kids could be sitting in the living room with the laptop while you are watching Coronation Street.”

In September, the Record revealed five child abuse victims were snatched from paedophiles in a series of raids linked to Operation Defender.

The UK-based anti-bullying group, Beatbullying, called out social networks earlier in the week (remember, it’s anti-bullying week; this year focusing on cyberbullying). They asked that the popular websites start helping in the fight against bullying, rather than turning their heads and claiming it’s too hard to do anything about it.

Then, just a few days later, the popular website Bebo (which has been referred to by kids as BullyBo, due to the gross size of the problem) announced its implementing of a new button designed by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre. The button, a large graphic which features prominently on each personal profile page, provides quick access to 10 sources of help depending on the type of bullying. For instance, if a child has been bullied online but does not want to report it to the police, they will be directed to ChildLine. Users can also find details of their local police station or contact a CEOP officer for more advice.

What a great idea. That is being proactive. And I applaud Bebo for quickly adopting the idea… I would also applaud any parent that realizes they are the key to stopping cyberbullying and that it is up to them to monitor their child’s online activity and make sure they are not bullyingg others…

Here’s the original print story from ArsTechnica and then a video on the Bebo part. TO see the Beatbullying study (60 pgs!), click here: Virtual Violence: Protecting Children from Cyberbullying

November 16, 2009
Group wants social networks involved in fighting cyberbullies
Cyberbullying remains a problem for kids between 11 and 18, a UK-based anti-bullying group has found, and it wants social networks to step up and help with improved UIs and support services for kids in need.
By Jacqui Cheng

“I just want you to know what a fat, evil, sadistic cow you are. I want to see you suffer as slow and painful a death as possible.” That’s one of many messages sent to a teenager named Claire who had gotten into a disagreement over a basketball game. Another teen named Sam hanged himself after being “bombarded by cruel jibes” on Bebo over his taste in music and clothing.

These are just a couple of the stories told by UK-based anti-bullying group Beatbullying. The organization has released a new report on the state of cyberbullying in order to kick off Anti-Bullying Week, and notes that almost two-thirds of all youngsters have witnessed some sort of cyberbullying online. With these statistics in mind, the group says that social networks need to do more to help kids deal with cyberbullying.

Beatbullying surveyed 2,094 young people in England between the ages of 11 and 18 and found that 61.2 percent had witnessed cyberbullying online. Girls were more likely to be targeted than boys—23.8 percent of girls reported being harassed compared to 12.2 percent of boys. Nearly 70 percent of those who had been victims said they knew the person who was cyberbullying them, and nearly a third said that the incidents originated offline before going digital.

One of the most popular pranks is fake profiles being set up in the victim’s name, offering an open season platform for the bully to to post as many embarrassing and ridiculous updates as possible. Indeed, this is an age-old cyberbullying tactic that is often used to target teachers and principals, but recently got a handful of teens in hot water after a peer’s fake profile began to affect his college admissions.

On top of fake profiles, more than 20 percent of respondents reported seeing “hate sites” being set up to target someone, and almost a quarter said they had been sent a video clip of someone being bullied. Perhaps it comes as no surprise as well that children with disabilities were 16 percent more likely to be bullied online over a prolonged period of time, as well as those who receive free school meals (13 percent).

Some of the favorite mediums for cyberbullying were MSN Messenger (now Windows Live Messenger), Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, and YouTube. It’s these sites where Beatbullying is focusing its “advice”—the organization says that Internet services like Windows Live Messenger and Bebo need better reporting mechanisms for when kids are being harassed, and a better UI so it’s easier for people to find these features. Beatbullying also says these services should provide safety nets for kids looking for support, and that they should offer “innovative” anti-bullying education programs.

The topic of cyberbullying has gotten increased attention in recent years thanks in part to the high-profile “MySpace Suicide” of Megan Meier but, as Beatbullying has pointed out, Meier was hardly the first or last teen to commit suicide as a result of harassment online. A number of bills have popped up in the US in an attempt to define cyberbullying and establish punishments for it, but the real solution is something that Beatbullying and other groups have begun to focus on: offering education and support for both bullies and victims.

Okay, so this 16-year-old girl from southern California goes onto a dating site. She lies about being 18 and meets a guy. She falls in love with him and runs away to be with him (in Albuquerque NM). The thing is, he is 57. He has sex with her a couple times and ties her up.

She went with him, fully consenting. But it turned out to be not such a pleasant situation she found herself in. This is another reason why parents must monitor their children’s internet activity. This girl went looking for trouble. Yes she met a very bad person, BUT, she started it… it was her own curiosity. He parents should have known.

On the other hand, even though the guy is claiming she said she was 18… he’s 57. That’s nasty. You know he is not on the level… Remember: these guys DO exist!

Here is a video of the story with a print (earlier) version below.

Nov 11, 2009
Internet Runaway Rescued From Bondage

A man who allegedly admitted having sex with a 16-year-old runaway girl from Westminster was in custody in Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday.

Edward S. Christy, 57, was arrested Monday in Albuquerque on suspicion of criminal sexual penetration, custodial interference and sexual exploitation of children, according to an arrest warrant from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s office. He was locked up in lieu of $200,000 bail.

When sheriff’s deputies went to arrest Christy, they noticed what appeared to be a camera flashing in the window and the girl’s wrists and necktied with straps, according to an arrest warrant signed by Bernalillo County sheriff’s Detective Weylin Proctor.

On Sunday, the girl’s parents told Westminster police their daughter left a note, saying she had run away from home, Westminster police Officer Cameron Knauerhaze said.

The parents found e-mail and chat logs on her computer that indicated she had met an Albuquerque man online, Knauerhaze said. Investigators dug further and found an address of “a person of interest,” Knauerhaze said.

Once in custody, FBI agents questioned Christy, who told them he met the girl about six weeks ago on a dating web site, according to the arrest warrant. Christy said the girl claimed she was 18, and he asked her to send him photographs, according to the warrant.

The girl called Christy on Friday and told him that she would kill herself if she could not be with him, according to the warrant, which stated that Christy drove to California to pick her up.

Christy said he had sex with the girl twice, once in a motel in Needles, California, and again at his home, Proctor said in the warrant.

Under questioning, Christy admitted he knew the girl was under age, according to the warrant. Christy said he bought dog cages and bondage items for the girl, Proctor stated.