Not too long ago I was watching a late-night investigative report on the people who prey on our children. What the investigative team did was to pretend to be a 13-year-old boy in an Internet chat room. The supposed 13-year-old was propositioned for sex by at least four different men who would come to the house of the boy for sex.
All of these men knew this was a 13-year-old but proceeded to try to engage in sexual intercourse with the boy. The first adult male showed up for sex at the house and instead of finding a willing 13-year-old, he found a news reporter who tried to question him. Out of the four males that came to the house, two ran away, and two others tried to talk their way out of it. What was surprising to me was that these four individuals did not look like the type of person who would engage in such unlawful acts with a minor.
One was a fireman, two were teachers, and one was a rabbi. One of the persons also showed up naked as he entered the house. It appears that we not only have to be alert to who our children talk to, but who they talk to, especially in a chat room. I think children under the age of 17 should not be on a chat room site. It is very surprising the number of perpetrators who prey on young kids there. There appears to be so many perverts out there that the only way these people are uncovered is if they are caught, and for some children it is too late by then.
Joe Raines
Willmar
