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SALT LAKE CITY — Back in the day, the question went something like, “Parents, it’s 10 p.m. Do you know where your children are?” Now, it might more relevant to ask, “Do you know where your children are online?”
Police arrested 30 online predators in four days last month as part of a crackdown on cybercrimes against children in Salt Lake County.
Members of the Child Exploitation Task Force, comprised of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, say the roundup is indicative of a big problem in Utah. The cases are among 110 that the district attorney’s office has filed this year for enticing or coercing a minor or sexual exploitation of a child.
“When I look at 110 cases in less than a year on a part-time, episodic approach, that is alarming to me, and there’s 110 that I didn’t catch,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “If we had resources to do this on a daily basis, I shudder to think the number of people who are there.”
Because of the lack of resources and the pervasiveness of internet predators targeting children, police put out a call Tuesday for parents to be more vigilant about the social media platforms their kids are using. They urged parents to talk to their children about what they’re doing and who they’re talking to online.
“It’s not a crime to be a nosy parent,” said Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown.
Gill said parents don’t let their children walk home from school alone or across a park. “But with technology that we often buy with an eye toward protecting our children, we invite the whole world into their bedroom,” he said.
Paul Haertel, FBI special agent in charge in Salt Lake City, suggested parents have become complacent about knowing what apps their children have on their phones.
U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber said online predators are becoming more sophisticated and parents need to keep up to protect their children beyond what law enforcement can do. Parents who don’t get involved run the risk of their daughters or sons being abused by an adult, he said.
Internet chats can go from hello to sex talk in a hurry, Huber said.
It’s not a crime to be a nosy parent.
–Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown.
Online crimes against children include sharing photos, arranging to meet in person, grooming behavior and trading child sex images. Huber said calling it child pornography doesn’t cut it anymore.
“Let’s call it what it is, the recording of the rape of children,” he said.
Officials said child sexual predators don’t fit any specific profile and come from all socioeconomic backgrounds. They are teachers, doctors, clergy and athletes, Brown said.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline received 10.2 million reports in 2017.
An analysis of nearly 6,000 reports in 2015 found 78% of the victims were girls and 13% were boys. (Gender could not be determined in the other 9%.) About eight in 10 offenders were men, and 98% of offenders were not known to the children in real life.
The analysis also showed that internet companies were overwhelmingly — 71% — the most frequent reporters of online enticement to the center’s tipline, followed by parents at 14%.
