By Denise Pellow, KidsBeSafeOnline     Parents know that they need to be very wary of their children’s activities on the Internet, and in particular on social networking sites.  The following story is yet another alarming example of what can happen with children and the Internet.

The following case explains how CraigsList.com was used to harm a minor by using the Internet. CraigsList is a free service and displays ad listings for 60 countries worldwide. Sydney is one of the cities listed on CraigsList, and can be accessed at any time from any computer. 

A Missouri woman has been charged with felony harassment against a minor after she allegedly posted a sexually suggestive ad on the casual encounters section of CraigsList to humiliate a 17-year-old girl, who is the daughter of her ex-husband's girlfriend.  Elizabeth Thrasher, 40 of St. Peters, Missouri, is the first adult charged under Missouri's Cyberharassment Law passed in June 2008.

In the Missouri case, Thrasher is accused of posting the girl’s cell phone number, email address and a photo obtained from her MySpace page, indicating the 17-year-old was interested in a sexual encounter. 

Almost immediately the minor began receiving offensive calls and emails, texts and pornographic photos from people she did not know.  She reported the activity to the authorities.

If found guilty, Thrasher could receive a $5,000 fine, and up to four years in state prison, or up to a year in a county jail.  She has been released on $10,000 bond and is not allowed on the computer or Internet access from home.

Some safety tips for parents:
 

• Set up a Google alert for your name as well as your children. Google indexes websites and by setting up an alert for your name, you will receive an email when your name comes up on a website.

• It would be best to block CraigsList.com from underage users.  Under the category "Casual Encounters" on CraigsList ads are posted by the general public and for the most part contain inappropriate content and photos.  

• Stress to your children the importance of setting their profiles to private for all social networking sites they join.  Tell them to never reveal personal information about themselves or the family. MySpace has a place on their profile for school name, sexual orientation, age, and gender etc.   Explain to your kids that they do not have to fill in answers to those sections or suggest they be creative and make up a fun community name in place of their real school name and location for their network of friends.

• Remember, if you allow your children to join social networking sites before the age of 13 it is a violation of the website’s terms of service or use, as is the case with Facebook and MySpace. Otherwise, read the minimum age requirement stated on each website in their Terms. .  It is highly recommended that parents install parental control software, this is the first step to putting safeguards in place to protect your kids online.

About the Author: 

Denise Pellow is a speaker, author, and internet safety advocate with KidsBeSafeOnline LLC.  KidsBeSafeOnline provides cutting edge information on the trends in technology that affect our kids, and also provide educational materials, tools and resources for parents and educators.  Denise is the Author of the book: ‘The Five Dangerous Trends Concerning Kids, Technology, and the Internet’.

For further information how to protect your children online visit www.kidsbesafeonline.com.

About the book, 'The Five Dangerous Trends Concerning Kids, Technology and the Internet':

'The Five Dangerous Trends Concerning Kids, Technology and the Internet' contains insight, facts, resources, tools, guidelines and tips you need to protect your kids online.  Read more

YourKidsEd recommends KidsWatch parental control software:

Kids Watch provides a comprehensive, yet simple suite of options, including monitoring so parents may interact with their children and discuss appropriate behaviour.   

Kids Watch works in conjunction with the High Tech and Child Protection Unit of the Australian Federal Police with regard to identification of terminology that Kids Watch looks for in chat rooms that indicate Cyber Bullying and Child Grooming.

Please enquire via this email link: info@kidswatch.com.au

Or for more information, visit website: www.kidswatch.com

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