10-22-2008 Michigan: (Phase-I)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) -- It's a frightening prospect - 21 men, some driving hundreds of miles, to meet your child.
This time, the kids were actually adult decoys and police. The next time, and the time before, it may have been a different story.
When asked by 24 Hour News 8, one of the men arrested in last weekend's Internet predator sting said this was his first attempted encounter with a minor.
"You're telling me that this is the first time that you got into a sexual conversation with an underage person on the Internet?" 24 Hour News 8 asked one of the suspects.
"That I remember," answered 35-year-old ___, a disabled Gulf War vet from Indiana.
Perhaps more frightening is the jobs some of these men have that put them in direct contact with children.
____ was a junior varsity soccer coach in Cedar Springs. _____ was a youth hockey league referee in Hazel Park. _____ worked at a Toys R Us store in Saginaw.
Nothing 24 Hour News 8 discovered in these men's history indicated a previous problem that a background check would have found.
While they don't have specific numbers, groups like Perverted Justice, who work the chat rooms to catch sexual predators, say teachers, school bus drivers and coaches are among the most common profession they see picked up for these kinds of crime.
"You start going, Wow, this is so common.' It's really disconcerting," said Del Harvey, a Perverted Justice volunteer who acted as a decoy at the operation in Kent County last weekend.
The reason is simple - pedophiles tend to obtain positions of authority over children.
Schools check criminal backgrounds by law. Some, but not all youth-related organizations, do the same out of common sense.
But if there no criminal background, how do you know?
The experts say the dilemma falls back on parents.
When it comes to coaches, Perverted Justice suggests going beyond the background checks - get the details on any out-of-school trips your children may take with a coach, and ask how many other adults will supervise the trip and then meet them.
But the best advice is to make sure your child knows he or she can tell you anything they're uncomfortable with. ..News Source.. by Joe LaFurgey
October 22, 2008
MI- Some predators worked with kids
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Notice the media placing fear into the public by how they report this story, yet many of them were without a criminal record.
So, the oldest being 65, was without a criminal record (I'm supposing he was) he spent all those years in hiding. Years before the telephone, television, internet or any other advances in technology.
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