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The Florida Times Union: Families coached to identify offenders by learning their signs
· By Josh Salman
· Story updated at 6:33 AM on Wednesday, May. 27, 2009
Child predators have a different look than five years ago.
Instead of hiding in cars and on street corners, they’re in chat rooms and social networking sites. And while their style has changed, their goal has not.
There are thousands of registered sex offenders on social networking sites nationwide, said Stacie Rumenap, executive director of Stop Child Predators, a national nonprofit organization. Most of these predators lie about their age, use fake photos and target the early teens who frequent these sites, she said. And parents can’t keep up.
To read more click here.
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Raleigh News and Observer: Google urged to keep kids hidden
BY MARK JOHNSON, Staff Writer
RALEIGH – Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and state lawmakers from Charlotte and Raleigh on Tuesday joined an anti-Internet predators group as one of its leaders called for Google to remove photos from its popular “Street View” service if they include children.
The photos could help predators identify their targets, said Stacie Rumenap, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based stopchildpredators.org.
Google’s Street View allows anyone on the Internet to type in an address and get photographs showing a 360-degree view of the neighborhood.
To read more click here.
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LT. GOV. DALTON ANNOUNCES WEEK TO PROTECT KIDS FROM ONLINE PREDATORS
CONTACT: Sara Lang, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, 919-733-0098
Jason Sulham, Nexus Strategies, Stop Internet Predators, 919.829.1132 x105
DATE: May 18, 2009
**Media Advisory**
LT. GOV. DALTON ANNOUNCES WEEK TO PROTECT KIDS FROM ONLINE PREDATORS
With North Carolina’s children facing increasing dangers online, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton will hold a press conference Tuesday to announce that May 18-25 has been declared North Carolina Stop Internet Predators Awareness Week. The week, which was designated through proclamation by Gov. Bev Perdue, aims to educate all North Carolinians on the ways child predators are using the Internet and provide parents with resources to better protect their children.
Investigations and operations conducted by the North Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force resulted in more than 800 subpoenas in 2008. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children one in five girls and one in ten boys are sexually exploited before they reach adulthood. Recent action taken by attorneys general resulted in the removal of more than 90,000 sexual offenders from social networking websites. Last year, Dalton authored a new law that banned the use of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook by sexual predators, increased penalties for sexual exploitation of children and prohibited name changes that help predators hide.
Dalton will be joined at the event by Sen. Josh Stein and Rep. Tricia Cotham, who will discuss efforts in the General Assembly to protect North Carolina’s children, and Stacie Rumenap, executive director of Stop Child Predators. The press conference is sponsored by the national organization Stop Child Predators and their advocacy project Stop Internet Predators.
Other events scheduled during Stop Internet Predators Awareness Week include:
· A PSA featuring Raleigh City Councilwoman Mary-Ann Baldwin and Raleigh Chief of Police Harry Dolan will run on all three Raleigh Television Network channels.
· The North Carolina Department of Justice will present an internet safety program sponsored by the Stop Internet Predators project at West Cary Middle School.
· Stacie Rumenap, executive director of Stop Child Predators and Stop Internet Predators, will be available for media interviews to discuss the national effort and how we can make our communities safer from child predators.
WHO: Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton
Sen. Josh Stein
Rep. Tricia Cotham
Stacie Rumenap, Stop Child Predators
WHAT: Stop Internet Predators Awareness Week
WHEN: Tuesday, May 19th at 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: General Assembly Press Conference Room
10 W. Jones Street
Raleigh, NC
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Child Safety Coalition Announces Summer Safety Awareness Campaign
For Immediate Release
Contact Liz Shawen
850.224.0174
lizs@moore-pr.com
Child Safety Coalition Announces Summer Safety Awareness Campaign
Stop Internet Predators Partners with AG McCollum’s CyberCrime Unit
For Statewide Education Presentations
Jacksonville, Fla. (May 18, 2009) – To kick off their Summer Safety Awareness Week, Stop Internet Predators, an initiative of the national non-profit organization Stop Child Predators, today announced a partnership with Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum’s CyberCrime Unit to conduct a summer safety awareness campaign. The organization and the CyberCrime Unit will work together on statewide Internet safety presentations for local PTAs and other interested groups throughout the next three months.
“We are so happy to work with Attorney General McCollum’s exemplary CyberCrime Unit to help educate communities on child internet safety,” said Stacie Rumenap, executive director of Stop Child Predators. “This is a natural partnership for us, as child safety, both online and off, is a passion for my organization and the Attorney General’s Office.”
This latest initiative by Stop Internet Predators and the Attorney General’s CyberCrime Unit will focus on educating PTA members about the dangers posed to children online, particularly by predators’ use of emerging Internet technologies to victimize children. The presentation will offer critical insight to community and child safety stakeholders on how to be proactive when protecting their children from the potentially harmful abuse of online applications.
”CyberSafety and education about safe internet use should be a top priority for our students, our parents, our grandparents and any other concerned Floridian,” said Attorney General McCollum. “The more we know about safe internet use, the better we can help protect our children from internet child predators.”
In 2007, Attorney General McCollum’s CyberSafety Education program debuted at public and private middle and high schools across the state. During the interactive 50-minute PowerPoint-based program, students learn about the risks posed by online predators, as well as what constitutes a cyber crime and how to report it. The program is presented by specially-trained members of the Attorney General’s team. To date, the presentation has reached more than 382,000 students, including 195,000 children this school year alone.
Stop Child Predators has designated the week of May 18 through May 24, 2009 as “Stop Internet Predators Summer Safety Awareness Week.” This week serves as an opportunity for citizens to learn more about how child predators are abusing the Internet and what new technologies may pose a threat to families and children, as well as local efforts that address child sexual abuse and abduction.
For more information about Stop Internet Predators and its work in Florida, log on to www.StopInternetPredators.org. To request a presentation in your area, contact Liz Shawen at (850) 224-0174 or lizs@moore-pr.com.
About Stop Internet Predators
Stop Internet Predators is a project of Stop Child Predators, launched to educate parents and communities on emerging online child safety issues and empower them to protect their children’s privacy and safety. Stop Internet Predators has a special focus on new internet technologies that pose a risk to their children’s safety, such as Google’s Street View.
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Stop Internet Predators Honors Attorneys General from Rhode Island, North Carolina, Maryland, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Florida with Champion of Online Safety Award
For Immediate Release Contact: Catherine Johnson
May 13, 2009 202-253-7481
Stop Internet Predators Honors Attorneys General from Rhode Island, North Carolina, Maryland, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Florida with Champion of Online Safety Award
PHILADELPHIA - Stop Internet Predators, an organization committed to keeping children safe online, yesterday honored Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum with the “Champion of Online Safety Award” at a press conference at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia.
This recognition is part of an effort by Stop Internet Predators to honor legislators, policy makers and community leaders both, nationally and in communities across America, that are the strongest advocates for child online safety.
“We are pleased to have the opportunity to recognize these six Attorneys General for their advocacy efforts for child Internet safety,” Stacie Rumenap, executive director of Stop Internet Predators said. “In their own unique way they all have made significant impacts on strengthening Internet and wireless safety for young people.”
“Attorney General Corbett created in Pennsylvania two very useful child safety groups: the Child Sexual Exploitation Task Force and the Child Predator Unit. Attorney General Lynch has made increasing protections for children in the realm of technology a priority, both in his capacity as Rhode Island Attorney General and as President of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG),” continued Rumenap. “ While Attorney General Roy Cooper has been a leader at the national and state levels in protecting young people from the potential dangers of the Internet by supporting tough laws that deter criminals who harm our children.”
“General Gansler is diligent about proposing, drafting, and successfully advocating for legislation to protect Maryland children from sexual predators. And General McCollum, a staunch supporter of child Internet safety, in 2005 created the Child Predator CyberCrime Unit in Florida, which brings together state law enforcement, investigators and prosecutors to investigate and prosecute child predators, child pornography and Internet-based sexual exploitation of children. With such intense efforts it is only fitting to recognize all these contributions to child safety online,” concluded Rumenap.
Stop Internet Predators is a project of Stop Child Predators, launched to educate parents and communities on emerging online child safety issues and empower them to protect their children’s privacy and safety. http://www.stopinternetpredators.org
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Stop Internet Predators Honors Attorneys General from Rhode Island, North Carolina, Maryland, Mississippi and Florida with Champion of Online Safety Award
PHILADELPHIA – Stop Internet Predators, an organization committed to keeping children safe online, today honored Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum with the “Champion of Online Safety Award” at a press conference at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia.
This recognition is part of an effort by Stop Internet Predators to honor legislators, policy makers and community leaders both, nationally and in communities across America, that are the strongest advocates for child online safety.
“We are pleased to have the opportunity to recognize these five Attorneys General for their advocacy efforts for child Internet safety,” Stacie Rumenap, executive director of Stop Internet Predators said. “In their own unique way they all have made significant impacts on strengthening Internet and wireless safety for young people.”
“Attorney General Lynch has made increasing protections for children in the realm of technology a priority, both in his capacity as Rhode Island Attorney General and as President of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG),” continued Rumenap. “ While Attorney General Roy Cooper has been a leader at the national and state levels in protecting young people from the potential dangers of the Internet by supporting tough laws that deter criminals who harm our children.”
“General Gansler is diligent about proposing, drafting, and successfully advocating for legislation to protect Maryland children from sexual predators. And General McCollum, a staunch supporter of child Internet safety, in 2005 created the Child Predator CyberCrime Unit in Florida, which brings together state law enforcement, investigators and prosecutors to investigate and prosecute child predators, child pornography and Internet-based sexual exploitation of children. With such intense efforts it is only fitting to recognize all these contributions to child safety online,” concluded Rumenap.
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