Child Abuse Recovery Journal

The new home of Suite101's Child Abuse & Recovery Feature Writer, Susan Maree Jeavons. Susan is a child abuse survivor who provides articles, commentary, poetry, support, and information on topics related to child abuse.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Bravo MSNBC!

Maybe some of you have seen the "Catch A Predator" episodes of Dateline MSNBC. If not, you should have! All parents should have seen it! They were very enlightening! If your child has a computer, or uses yours to surf the web:

'To Catch a Predator' will be rebroadcast on MSNBC Cable
— Part 3 of Florida: Saturday, June 17, 10 p.m.
— Part 4 of Florida: Saturday, June 24, 10 p.m.

Watch it! If you don’t have cable, find a friend who does and watch it together.

Who are these men who surf the web looking for children to molest?
Just a few:

  • A Paramedic
  • A 6th Grade Catholic Teacher
  • A Student in an Evangelical College
  • An Army Reservist
  • A Home Health Care Worker
  • A Rabbi
  • A Fireman
  • A Coach
  • A Mental Health Worker For Teens

This should be a wake-up call for parents! Do not leave your child with anyone that you do not personally know and trust. Even if they are a clergyman, teacher, fireman, policeman or coach. Predators are good at what they do. They may seem like kind-hearted people who just love your children, but some of them use this as bait to lure their prey in. They may even buy your child gifts, offer to take them places, or offer to baby-sit. For a single parent, this may be a very tempting offer, but don’t fall for it. If you do, you may be sending your child into a dangerous situation.


Teach your children to be aware, and to tell if anyone does anything that makes them feel uncomfortable. Talk to them in plain English and they will understand. Let them know that they can come to you with anything, and you will not judge them for it. Honesty in this instance, may save a child’s life.


Some of the men on Dateline, drove over 200 miles to meet underage children for sex. Some rode the bus for 4 hours. One man brought rope and duct tape with him. Another, coming to see who he thought was a 14-year-old boy, brought his 5-year-old son with him. Because of that, Dateline did not confront him. I hope they did so later, when the child was not with him. I wonder what he had planned for his son….


Chris Hansen and Dateline MSNBC should be commended for their efforts on behalf of our children. More stations should do what MSNBC did. If they did, maybe these sick perverts would get the message; LEAVE OUR CHILDREN ALONE!


To read more about this story, and to see more safety information, click on the following link, then in the left sidebar, click on "Catch A Predator.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/