blackvoicenews.com

 

The popular weekly television news show, Dateline has a series called, "TO Catch a Predator," that I rate as a well intended but lukewarm effect sexual crime deterrent against children. The ongoing series aids law enforcement in catching Internet Chat Room adult male sexual predators of young girls.  The sting operation works by an under cover policewoman entering an Internet Chat Room and posting her profile as a young girl usually 13 or 14 years old in search of friendship or a chatting buddy. The profile attracts other youth desiring friendships; however, it also attracts adult males seeking sexual relationships with female minors. Ultimately the men go for the jailbait and are led my their perverted lust to a house where they expect to meet the a sexually permissive young girl.  Upon arrival they are arrested on national television.

Although the sting operation is a service to the community because it endeavors to protect innocent girls from Internet predators; however, it puts the safety and/or lives of the men in serious jeopardy by exposing them on national television.  There are many people that like to take the law into their own hands when it comes to child molesters. However, besides being bothered by the ‘Dateline' inadvertently setting the men up for harm, I am also bothered that little or nothing is being done to curB the solicitation of real minor girls on the Internet seeking cyberspace relationships with older males for sexual experimentation and/or profit.

There are minor girls making themselves available via the Internet. Recently, I discovered that a 12-year old girl on my street has a My Space profile where she described herself as 19 years old, bisexual and seeking new friends. This is a girl that has twice babysat my grandson. I soon began to check other My Space sites of some of the kids I knew from the neighborhood, church, and within my family. I soon discovered other young girls that I knew boosted their age to 18 or 19 years old and included their wild sexual desires and/or fantasies.

My point in sharing this information is that I believe that the juvenile authorities should launch their own sting operation to catch young girls that lure men into the trap of Statutory Rape by pretending to be older. These kids are inviting strange men and boys to their parent's home for acts that could send naïve men to prison. Perhaps undercover agents should respond to some of these My Space profiles and save these kids from themselves. However these kids need higher morals and counseling, not incarceration.

While it is justice that the adult males in pursue of young girls are busted and face imprisonment, it is unjust that no uncover law enforcement agency is conducting sting operations to catch the young girls that are misleading older males online. Every parent should check up their child's My Space profile and also the profile of their friends.

Email: richardojones1@verizon.net

< Prev		Next >