Outsmarting online child predators

Every day, law enforcement officers around the state who specialize in cyber crimes investigations work tirelessly to identify and locate potential child sex predators who troll Internet chat rooms for underage victims. Since its launch in 2003, the Office of the Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Unit has arrested 150 suspects who used the Internet to prey upon children.
In a series of undercover sting operations during the month of June, for example, our cyber crimes officers teamed with officers in the Round Rock Police Department and the FBI to identify, locate and arrest eight suspected child predators in Williamson and northern Travis counties. All eight suspects were charged with online solicitation of a minor, a felony punishable by at least two years in prison.
During the undercover operation, Cyber Crimes Unit officers identified and arrested three suspected online predators who placed or responded to online advertisements seeking sexual encounters with children. Cyber Crimes Unit officers also arrested five suspects who initiated online chats on social networking sites to sexually proposition children. One of the suspects arrested was Noel Santos Torres, a 31-year-old restaurant chain manager. According to investigators, Torres initiated online chats and exchanged sexually graphic text messages with someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl. The “girl” was actually an undercover Cyber Crimes Unit officer. Torres sexually propositioned the girl and arranged to meet her on June 12 at a location in Round Rock. Cyber Crimes Unit officers identified and arrested Torres when he arrived at the meeting.
We are grateful to the local, state and federal law enforcement officials from Central Texas who helped make these eight arrests possible and continue to work with the Cyber Crimes Unit to protect Texas families. The results of our undercover summer sweep demonstrate that collaboration between state and federal authorities and police and sheriff’s departments statewide offers the best pathway to success.
Another key to our unified approach to encouraging cyber safety and protecting children online is parental involvement. Cyber predators pose a constant and very real threat to young Texans’ safety and well-being, so Texas parents must remain vigilant to their children’s online activity. Specifically, parents must remind their children and teenagers about the potentially dangerous criminals hiding behind seemingly benign online profiles or online advertisements.
 

For more information, see our E-edition at http://www.etypeservices.com/SWF/LocalUser/Atlanta1//Magazine40661/Full/...