Marlborough- In 2019, The National Center of Missing and Exploited Children cyber tip line, received more then 16 million reports of predators targeting children through the internet - and that number has only gone up since the pandemic.
WMCT spoke with Callahan Walsh from The Center of Missing and Exploited Children, the center works hand and hand with authorities to catch repeat offenders like Marlborough resident, Phillip Raymond. Raymond has a long history of offenses- that were committed online and not discovered until police seized his computer. Raymond’s computer held heavily encrypted evidence that proved, Raymond was producing pornography involving more than a dozen minors over the course of ten years. So how do you protect and educate your kids from ending up in a dangerous situation like this one?
Walsh advices parents to visit netsmartkidz.org, this website is specifically designed to address topics you may not know how to talk about with your child. He also says, to download and talk to you kids about what apps they are using, create a profile, and figure out the best way you can use that technology. Second set ground rules and stick to them especially if there was bad behavior in the past and third have on going conversations with your kids about online safety. The National Center of Missing and Exploited Children is a useful resource for online safety education. Remember toddlers, tweens and teens all need a different conversation about online safety.
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