Table of Contents

President’s Message
With the midnight oil burning at the Maryland General Assembly, legislators decided on a mandatory 15-year prison sentence for people who commit more serious sex offenses or rape against a child, instead of a five-year sentence under existing law. They also eliminated the possibility of reduced prison sentences for good behavior for violent and repeat sex offenders. I was in Annapolis today as Governor Martin O’Malley signed these bills into law, and thank Joan Harris, Dee Zepp, Assemblymen Steven Schuh and Michael Smigiel and the countless other volunteers and lawmakers that made today possible. Congrats on a solid win!
> Read More

Chelsea’s Law Gains Momentum in California Assembly
Chelsea’s Law has been swiftly making its way through the California legislature. It has support on both sides of the aisle, including Democratic Assembly leader, John Perez and Republican California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
> Read More

Facebook Improves Online Safety Reporting, Ignores Demand for Panic Button
Facebook’s new Safety Advisory Board, comprised of leading experts from a variety of safety organizations, introduced its new Safety Center last month to help consumers stay safe while surfing online. The Center also features tools that allow parents, teachers, teens and law enforcement to report questionable content
> Read More

Jessie’s Dad Documentary
In honor of National Missing Children’s Day (see article, May 25 Marks National Missing Children’s Day), SCP President Stacie Rumenap will join award-winning film director Boaz Dvir on June 2 in Washington, DC for his DC premier of “Jessie’s Dad.”
> Read More

May 25 Marks National Missing Children’s Day
May 25 marks National Missing Children’s Day, a day in which groups like Stop Child Predators strive to elevate child safety as a national priority.
> Read More

How technology and community helps parents keep their kids safe
Let’s face it. Teens are out pacing their parents in using the Internet, and most parents don’t have the time or energy to know what their teens (or tweens) are doing on-line. And as technology continues to evolve, parents fall further and further behind.
> Read More

ShareThis

President’s Message
Greetings everyone from the Free State Capitol of Annapolis, Maryland where dozens of new sex offender laws have been proposed, and more muscle for existing laws is being considered by lawmakers. Read on to learn more about the Maryland legislature’s efforts to approve increasing the minimum prison sentence for child sex offenders and removing the possibility of parole. After weeks-long debates were held in the Senate Judicial Proceedings committee both chambers passed bills, but the House version calls for 15 years for child rape while the Senate calls for 20. The bills need to be reconciled before the legislature adjourns on April 12.
> Read More

Maryland Lawmakers Push for Tougher Sex Offender Laws
The Maryland House of Delegates approved tripling the minimum prison sentence from five to 15 years in addition to removing the possibility of parole for child sex offenders. They also voted to eliminate good-time prison credits for the most violent and repeat predators and establish lifetime supervision for them. The House Judiciary Committee also wants to require people convicted of child pornography possession or indecent exposure in the presence of minors to register as sex offenders.
> Read More

The Cowboy State Toughens Penalties for Child Sex Offenders
Wyoming became the 43rd state to pass Jessica’s Law last month when Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) signed the law on March 11. The new law creates a mandatory sentence of at least 25 years in prison for perpetrators age 21 or older who sexually assault a victim under the age of 13. It takes effect in July.
> Read More

FCC Chair Gets it Right When it comes to Child Safety
When FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski outlined recently how the new National Broadband Plan will benefit children and empower families, he reminded parents to think about the differences between today and when they grew up…how families of his generation probably had one television in the living room, and how watching a favorite band on the Ed Sullivan Show was a weekend highlight.
> Read More

Spring Break: Tips for Keeping Your Children Safe On-line
This spring break, tens of millions of teens and young children will take some much needed—or at least strongly desired—rest from their school and enjoy a short vacation. It supposed to be a time to relax and with family and friends. But the place where millions of those children will turn this spring break might have not-so-positive dangers lurking.
> Read More

ShareThis

President’s Message
Greetings everyone from Cheyenne, Wyoming! Mark Lunsford and I are here advocating for a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence for convicted sex offenders, aka Jessica’s Law. This particular fight marks a two year battle with state lawmakers and I hope to have good news to report in next month’s edition of SCP’s newsletter.
 

CA Court Upholds Prop 83
California court upholds residency restrictions for convicted sex offenders, Governor promises to defend Jessica’s Law.

Minnesota Governor Cracks Down on Sex Offenders
Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota is ready to crack down on sex offenders. Under his new proposal, people convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct will face a presumptive sentence of 25 years in prison, a drastic increase of the previous 12 year sentence.

Model Legislation to Define “Sexting”
Thanks in large part to technology, parents of today’s teenagers have more to worry about than how well their child is doing in school or what career they plan to pursue. Today’s parents have the added burden of worrying about how technology is affecting their children. Is someone at school bullying them? Is their teenager “sexting,” the newest phenomenon of sending nude or semi-nude photos electronically to their boyfriends or girlfriends?

Nebraska Lawmakers Consider Legislation to Protect Consumers from Inadvertent File Sharing
Stop Child Predators’ President Stacie Rumenap testified before the Nebraska state House Judiciary Committee on February 17th as members considered legislation that would better protect consumers from inadvertently sharing information stored on their computers, and help eliminate the sharing of illegal materials like child pornography, through peer-to-peer applications (commonly referred to as P2P).

To read the entire newsletter click here.

ShareThis

President’s Message
For any parent who feels out-of-touch or under-equipped to engage their child on the Internet, this edition of Stop Child Predators’ newsletter helps parents think about how media and technology fit into their family’s life.  From the “Parents Tech Corner” that offers tips for parents who want to help their kids safely navigate the Internet and other digital platforms to SCP staffer Amy Thienel’s advice that teens should think before they text or post material online, think of StopChildPredators.org as your one-stop website to learn about protecting and preparing children and teens as they grow up in a digital age, guarding your online privacy and balancing time spent in cyberspace—with articles that the entire family can read.

A Not So “Super” Bowl
It’s been nearly two months since Stop Child Predators spoke out against the NFL’s decision to allow Pete Townshend, guitarist for the iconic rock band The Who, and former sex offender registrant, to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show.

Townshend was placed on the UK sex offender registry from 2003-2008 after he admitted to paying for online child pornography. Townshend claimed that this purchase was made for research, which according to the FBI is one of the most common excuses given by alleged pedophiles when caught. Let’s not forget, paying for child porn drives up the demand and funds more abuse—something anyone studying the dark business of child pornography would recognize.

Parenting in the Digital Age
When it comes to being a parent in the Internet age, nothing has changed.  If that sounds naïve, allow me to explain.  Parenting has always been about two objectives: to protect and to prepare our children as they grow.  For millennia past, through different cultures and contexts—each with their own unique challenges—parents have been faced with these two primary objectives. 

Parents Tech Corner: Monitoring 101
Ellen Ohlenbusch President, McGruff SafeGuard
In any community, children confront dangers every day that parents are careful to protect against. Many parents can identify the troublemakers, the bad influencers, the bullies and possibly the predators to look out for. But, there is another community where children play that involves many more dangers and risks. This community is the Internet, and 74 percent of children ages 8 to 18 explore it without ever leaving home.

To read the entire newsletter click here.

ShareThis

Washington, DC – Today Stop Child Predators applauded Representative Ed Towns (D-NY) for introducing the Secure Federal File Sharing Act, H.R. 4098, that will help prevent the proliferation of child pornography by prohibiting the download, installation or use of open-network peer-to-peer file sharing software by government employees on all federal computers. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will consider the legislation.

Studies show users of peer-to-peer applications have inadvertently exposed personal information such as their tax returns, health records, business documents and other confidential information through file-sharing programs.  Worse, peer-to-peer applications can be used as vehicles for the distribution of illegal child pornography that is often deliberately labeled with seemingly benign titles that appeal to children. 

As a result, when a child searches for popular terms like “Hannah Montana” on a file-sharing service, that child runs the risk of being exposed to child pornography. 

Because these programs automatically share any file that is downloaded onto a user’s computer, the child may also unwittingly become a worldwide distributor and publisher of the same pornography to which he or she was exposed, making it more likely that others will be exposed as well. 

“We applaud Representative Towns for introducing legislation that puts into place safeguards to help curb the dissemination of child pornography that could be mistakenly accessed by government employees if they download peer-to-peer file sharing software on their work computers.  While peer-to-peer technology has many useful and legal purposes, statistics also indicate such networks create fertile ground for swapping pornographic material of minors,” said Stacie Rumenap, President of Stop Child Predators.

H.R. 4098 allows for exceptions to be made available if a peer-to-peer file sharing program is necessary for certain business operations of an agency or for a particular task or project.

Stop Child Predators works to fight against the dissemination of child pornography. 

Stop Child Predators published the white paper “Peer-to-Peer File Sharing:  Pandora’s Box of Child Porn?” in November 2009 recognizing the use of peer-to-peer networks by pedophiles to trade child pornography, and also highlighting the efforts by Congress, law enforcement officials and industry leaders to combat the problem. 

In February 2008, Stop Child Predators filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission arguing any new rules governing broadband industry practices should not interfere with the ability of Internet Service Providers to make sure their networks are not used to transmit child pornography.

Stop Child Predators also weighed in on United States v. Michael Williamsbefore the United States Supreme Court in June 2007.  This case was an appeal from a federal court ruling that struck down a law prohibiting individuals from marketing and trafficking child pornography on the Internet.  In a 7 to 2 opinion in May 2008, the Supreme Court ruled against the appeal and upheld the original 2003 law targeting child pornographers.

About Stop Child Predators
Stop Child Predators is a national non-profit organization that brings together a team of policy experts, law enforcement officers, community leaders, and parents to persuade state and federal lawmakers to enact policies to combat the sexual exploitation of children, and promote and protect the rights of victims.

http://www.stopchildpredators.org/news/pr012510.htm

ShareThis

President’s Message
This January marks a very exciting month at Stop Child Predators. This past fall, Amy Thienel joined Stop Child Predators as communications director. Amy is enthusiastic, and brings with her the creativity our halls have needed, as well as excellent writing experience and a dedication to promoting child safety at every possible turn. Be on the lookout for Amy’s blog postings, Facebook and newsletter updates and guest commentaries.

In Search of the New “World’s Greatest Rock Band”
The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched broadcasts on American television each year, with an estimate of over 100 million viewers tuning in for at least some of the game. If you’re anything like me, the halftime show is the highlight of the game. In recent years, they’ve become increasing elaborate and featured the biggest musical stars. In 2002, the halftime show starring U2 honored victims of the September 11th attacks. Mostly, the NFL gets it right when scheduling performers, even if there is an occasional “wardrobe malfunction” like in 2006. Which is why it’s shocking that the 2010 halftime show delivers a slap in the face to child victims of sex crimes.

Judge Asks Prosecutors Why No Restitution in Child Porn Case Was Sought
Thanks to our partnering organization National Law Center for Children and Families, Stop Child Predators was alerted that a federal judge in Minnesota wants prosecutors to explain why they have not pursued restitution in a child pornography case even when one of the victims requested it.

Luncheon With Chris Hansen of “To Catch a Predator” on January 28
Washington, DC – Join SCP and Carol Joynt at Joynt’s monthly Q&A Café on Thursday,January 28th to hear from NBC’s Chris Hansen, host of the acclaimed “To Catch A Predator” series on Dateline. The location is the Georgetown Ritz Carlton at 3100 South Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007. Seating begins at noon. The cost is $50, all inclusive. Valet parking is available for a discounted $10. Please make your reservation by calling (202) 912-4110.

Child Advocates Push to Eliminate Statute of Limitations for Reporting Child Sexual Assault in “America’s Dairyland”
The Wisconsin State Assembly recently introduced legislation that would eliminate the statute of limitations for reporting child sexual assault. Under Assembly Bill 453, the civil statute of limitations for reporting child sexual assault cases would be lifted, allowing a victim barred under current law to file a civil suit regardless of the amount of time passed since the abuse.

Parents Tech Corner: Monitoring 101
Ellen Ohlenbusch President, McGruff SafeGuard
In any community, children confront dangers every day that parents are careful to protect against. Many parents can identify the troublemakers, the bad influencers, the bullies and possibly the predators to look out for. But, there is another community where children play that involves many more dangers and risks. This community is the Internet, and 74 percent of children ages 8 to 18 explore it without ever leaving home.

To read the entire newsletter click here.

ShareThis

 To read the full paper click here.

ShareThis

The Associated Press
Tuesday, September 8, 2009

PHILADELPHIA — On the very first day of the school year, 12-year-old Mileena Rodriguez was reminded by President Barack Obama himself that hard work can take you places.Mileena listened to Obama’s plea to study hard and stay in school Tuesday, watching along with several of her classmates at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School and students across the country. For all the hubbub among adults over the back-to-school speech, many youngsters took the president’s message to heart.

To read the full article click here.

ShareThis

A project of Stop Internet Predators and N.C. Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the forum will bring together community leaders to identify threats to child online safety and solutions to potentially harmful Internet technologies. Lunch starts at 11:30 a.m., and the forum kicks off at noon Tuesday at The President’s Conference Room in Estey Hall at Shaw University, which is located at 118 East South Street.

To read more click here.

ShareThis

Google launched Street View in Switzerland last week, and the Swiss Privacy Commissioner isn’t satisfied that it will safeguard the privacy of Swiss citizens.

Whether you’re searching for a storefront in a strange neighborhood or drunks passed out on the curb, Google Street View can be an extremely helpful tool. Street View has drawn its share of critics, however, and we can now add the government of Switzerland to that list. Just days after launching Street View in Portugal, Switzerland, and Taiwan, the search giant has been told by the Swiss Government that it needs to yank the Street View from its Swiss maps, a development that has left the search giant “surprised.”

To read more click here.

ShareThis