Authorities are encouraging parents to talk to their children about online predators and to monitor their kidsâ computer use.
Their advice comes in the wake of four recent criminal cases in Davidson and Ashe counties involving girls who were taken or solicited by men online.
âOne of the most important things that needs to be done is that parents need to have a conversation with their child about what is safe internet usage,â said Kevin Roughton, the special agent in charge of the State Bureau of Investigationâs computer crimes unit. âEveryone is going to be on the internet, so how do we do it safely and how do we protect our kids?â
Device Dangers: FBI, SBI investigators share new details about Savannah Childress case Share Updated: 12:01 PM EST Mar 3, 2021 Share Updated: 12:01 PM EST Mar 3, 2021
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Show Transcript WHAT WE CAN ALL DO TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN. [CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY WXII-TV] [CAPTIONING PERFORMED BY THE NATIONAL CAPTIONING INSTITUTE, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CAPTION CONTENT AND ACCURACY. VISIT NCICAP.ORG] OUR LIVES ARE LARGELY ONLINE. INVESTIGATORS ONLY EXPECT THE DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT TO CONTINUE TO RISE. THERE ARE THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH A KNIFE THAT YOU CAN’T DO WITH ANY OTHER TOOL, BUT IT IS SHARP AND DANGEROUS. IT WILL CUT YOU AND LEAVE A MARK FOR LIFETIME. THE SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE OF THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION UNIT. HE SAID IN 2020, HIS TEAM SAW AN ASTRONOMICAL INCREASE IN THE TIPS COMING INTO THEIR OFFICE ABOUT INTERNET CRIMES INVOLVING CHILDREN. WE HAVE MORE CHILDREN ONLINE THAN BEFORE. WE
The Courier-Tribune
During the pandemic, local and national law enforcement has seen a dramatic increase of explicit material by youth online.
A week ago, in Randolph County the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was tipped off on a man in possession of child explicit content.
Since May 2019, the main objective of the county s program has been to limit the number of internet crimes against children, while spreading awareness of the surge of sexually explicit content involving young people.
The North Carolina branch run by the State Bureau of Investigation Computer Crimes program tracks down predators who use the internet to exploit children and have seen an increase in these crimes.