Hailey Buzbee’s story is still on everyone’s mind as families gathered at Hamilton Southeastern High School for a conversation about online safety.
FISHERS, Ind. — Hailey Buzbee was on many parents’ minds during a community meeting focused on protecting children from online predators on Wednesday at Hamilton Southeastern High School.
Inside the same school where the 17-year-old once attended classes, parents gathered to learn how to better monitor and protect their children online.
“It’s just been super heavy,” parent Sara Boldman said. “As parents, it feels like such a violation of the community, of our safety, of what we feel is real.”
The event was planned before Buzbee’s death, but parents said her case is what motivated many of them to attend.
“The conversations with parents, kids, everyone for weeks have just been heavy,” Boldman said. “Everyone’s just trying to figure out how to make sense of it.”
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Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Preston led the discussion. She spent nearly 18 years investigating internet crimes against children and shared real case examples with parents.
Because of the graphic nature of some material, children and news cameras were not allowed inside the meeting.
Preston said her goal is to use what investigators have learned from cases like Buzbee’s to help families protect their children.
“It really comes down to three important things: communicating with our kids, talking with them, telling them about the dangers that are out there in an age-appropriate way; restricting access to some apps until they’re ready; and most importantly, providing support,” Preston said.
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Preston said any child with internet access can be at risk.
“Most often, kids who are targeted by these specific type of predators are kids who are doing well in school. They have a smartphone, they have extracurriculars, they are close with their families,” Preston said.
Preston said parents should not assume their child is immune.
“We live in a modern world,” parent Adriana Hiatt said. “You need to be prepared and, at the same time, teach them with love.”
Boldman said she planned to immediately apply what she learned.
“I’m going to go home, check all of our phones, check my kids’ settings and have a conversation about what I learned,” Boldman said.
