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Online predators stories8/4/2023 ![]() ![]() “If the teen doesn’t choose ‘private’ when signing up, we send them a notification later on highlighting the benefits of a private account and reminding them to check their settings,” the guide said. ![]() All users above 13 on Instagram are considered “authorized account holders” and protected by the company’s privacy policy, the site said. Teens are also not able to change their default settings to “everyone” – the only options available to them are “friends” or “friends and contacts.”įacebook and Instagram, both Meta companies, also require their users to be 13 or older. Instagram does not grant parents access or allow parents to take action on accounts they do not own, according to its website. In an email, Snapchat officials said “there are no browsable public profiles for under 18s friend lists are not public” and that “by default, teens have to be mutual friends before they can start communicating with each other. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) 25 after he drove out from Virginia to meet Brooke’s 13-year-old daughter, who he had met online. Mark Winek, Sharie Winek and daughter Brooke Winek were slain, police say, by Austin Lee Edwards in their home on Nov. 30, 2022 at the Riverside Police Department Magnolia station in Riverside. Mychelle Blandin, who lost three family members in Riverside last week, speaks during a press conference on Wednesday, Nov. ![]() Once authorities uncover which platforms were used for communication between Edwards and the teen, warrants will be issued to specific companies, Olsen explained.Įlectronic service providers in the U.S., including social media platforms, are required by federal law via Title 18 to report suspected child sexual exploitation on their platforms and to comply with law enforcement, according to Olsen. He also noted that “kids are not entitled to digital devices,” and that sometimes, removing a device may be the only solution and parents can consider relatively low-tech options, like flip phones without internet access. “You’re entitled to look at it anytime you want, they’re not entitled to put a passcode on it that you don’t know.”įor parents of teenagers, Olsen suggested looking into restriction settings on devices like iPhones, which can allow parents to suspend access to certain websites and other content. “As soon as you put a digital device in a child’s hand, you need to get the child in the habit that device is not theirs, it’s yours,” Olsen said. “Anyone could say they are someone else, and you could be in this situation.”ĭetective Robert Olsen, who specializes in investigating online child exploitation, said fostering online safety starts from the moment children have internet access. “This horrific event started with an inappropriate online romance between a predator and a child,” Blandin said during the press conference, gripping her husband’s hand. ![]() Gonzalez also explained that predators attempt to entice would-be victims through gift cards, alcohol, drugs, lodging, and transportation, among other incentives. “Some of the most common tactics to entice children include engaging in sexual conversation, developing a rapport through compliments, discussing shared interests, or liking (children’s) online posts.” “This type of victimization takes place across every platform: social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms,” Gonzalez explained. It was not immediately clear which social media platforms Edwards used to contact the minor, Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez said. 25, after killing Brooke, 39, Mark, 69, and Sharie Winek, 65, - her mother and grandparents, respectively - and setting their home on fire. In tandem, authorities worked to unravel a digital crime scene involving so-called catfishing and sextortion schemes tied to the now-deceased suspect, police said.Īt a press conference Wednesday, authorities said Austin Lee Edwards used the internet to contact the 15-year-old teenager he allegedly kidnapped Friday, Nov. On Wednesday morning, the scent of ash still hung in the air around the Winek family’s charred Price Court home where authorities said a 28-year-old ex-Virginia State trooper‘s online predation turned into real-life violence. Investigators seeking clues in the slayings last week of three members of a Riverside family are now navigating parallel crime scenes: one in a quiet neighborhood where the horrific killings took place, and the other in the murkier domain of online predators. ![]()
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