CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – FBI agents in Northeast Ohio are actively investigating child abductions, online predators and sex trafficking cases, and officials are urging parents to recognize warning signs as April marks National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
FBI Special Agent Eden Koath said the internet provides both opportunities and risks for children.
“The internet is a great thing. It allows our children to learn and explore and have access to the world, but on the flip side of that you are giving the world access to your child,” Koath said.
Koath said even photos that appear harmless can be exploited.
“Often times photos that seem pretty innocent to us, whether it is kids at a dance recital or gymnastics can sometimes be traded in groups by predators,” she said.
The FBI says online gaming is another danger zone and warns children to avoid chat features with strangers entirely.
“Someone can be impersonating a kid from a neighboring school, but they are really an adult or they are somebody overseas who is extorting them for money,” Koath said.
Earlier this month, Brook Park’s Ernest Fuller was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for trafficking nearly 2,000 child sexual abuse images.
He is one of six northern Ohio men sentenced on similar charges in the past month.
Koath said children who make mistakes online should speak with a trusted adult.
“You don’t have to talk to these people. They are not your friends. You don’t have to engage with them. But let’s say you do. Let’s say you make the mistake. Let’s say you send something that you shouldn’t, talk to your parents talk to a trusted adult. You can fix it,” she said.
Koath said parents need to have difficult conversations with their children to keep them safe. She recommends looking at your children’s devices, know what apps they are using, and see who they are talking to.
“It is our job as adults to protect the most vulnerable and that is our kids. We have to sometimes do tough love. We have to be able to have the conversations, and this is going on whether you think it is or not,” she said.
FBI Cleveland and agencies across northeast Ohio say reporting is critical.
Tips can be submitted at tips.fbi.gov.
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