Protect Your Child Online

Knowing how to find criminal records, unfortunately, may be something you want to know how to do. 

People are not always truthful about themselves and having a criminal conviction on their record is something most will lie about if they can, and usually, the worse the offense, the bigger the lie.

Why it’s hard to know the truth.

This is a complicated thing to sort out because so many of us feel justified in telling so-called “white” lies. 

The 200 pounds on your scale becomes 195 on your driver’s license and 175 or 150 in any kind of dating profile.  That relationships that begin with lies only end well in the movies doesn’t seem relevant at the time.

Why it’s doubly difficult to protect your child.

We want people to like us.  In a world like the Internet, where it seems anything is possible, we tend to be far more prone to such “embellishments.”

If we do this as adults, think how much more extreme it can be as teens, where all hormones, not just the ones tied to sex, are firing off at random intervals and the whole culture is based around popularity.

Which means that not only are teens more inclined toward fibbing about weight, eye color, braces, grades… you name it, they are also more susceptible to those who are lying to them about things much more serious.  Like being 50, not 15, or being 19 and having a criminal record.

Protect your child by knowing how to find criminal records.

As a parent, you’ll have a stroke if you suspect everyone, but there are times to wonder. And times when protecting your child from a predator involves knowing how to find criminal records.

Click here to learn how to find criminal records.

Why would being able to find divorce records help you protect your child during her time online? 

There are a number of reasons, any of which is enough to cause most parents to set the computer on fire and lock their child in a closet until she’s 18.

Why you can’t protect your child just by cutting them off from the web.

Unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately – that kind of behavior, either literally or figuratively introduces its own set of problems. 

In the literal sense, it’s just wrong and will probably show up in the court records of your divorce proceedings, which will lead others to have questions about you.  Not good questions either.

In the literal sense, it’s wrong because it doesn’t actually help.  As much as parents quite naturally want to protect their children from everything, big or small that might hurt them, it is important that they learn to take care of themselves. 

Why taking risks is the best way to protect your child.

The only real way to do this is to take some risks.  This is not to say that you need to leave your child open to any and all dangers that might come her way – the online equivalent of throwing her in the lake and walking away to teach her to swim – but there is a balance.

How you can balance freedom and safety.

The best way of maintaining this balance is to pay attention to your child.  If she starts showing warning signs, then there are things to check out.  This is where divorce records can help.

Knowing how to find divorce records will enable you to learn why a friend’s parent was divorced.  If there’s an implication the parent was a risk, it is time to take action.

Click here to find out how to find divorce records.

In today’s world, information is available at a click of a button, and why should it be any different when you need to know how to search for court records? 

Tracking down public records by traditional methods such as local police departments or vital statistic offices of individual states is a lengthy process.

Don’t have time to do a background check yourself?

If you are looking for information on a current or prospective employee or business associate, potential soul mate, or someone in your neighborhood, you don’t have time to go around looking for the information. 

You need one place that gives a complete background check including criminal records, court records, vital statistics, and much more.

You can have it done for you online.

The best place to go is to a website that can do the whole process in a few simple steps.  All you need is a first and last name, but more information such as age, social security number, and address won’t hurt. 

It will make things a lot quicker.  These types of websites compile billions of records and constantly update their database.

By now, most parents are familiar with the mandatory check of sexual offenses.  Anytime you move into a new neighborhood or let your child stay with someone else, it is a good idea to do one of these checks. 

Don’t fall under the delusion that no sexual offense means there is no criminal history.  Checking court records can tell you a multitude of things that free reports don’t bother with such as domestic abuse or drug charges.

Simple steps to protect your child and yourself online.

If you are a single parent that is considering dating, never put any information on the site about your children.  Don’t post pictures.  Don’t let anyone know where you live until you have done some investigation.  An honest person will respect this.  Red flags should go off if someone is offended by this. 

Learn today how to search for court records.

Knowing how to get a copy of criminal history in Florida is quickly becoming a skill acquired by every parent in Florida.  Florida headlines have some of the most alarming stories to tell, too.  The examples are endless.

Could criminal history checks have helped in these cases?

Who could forget the case of Jessica Lunsford who was kidnapped, raped, and slowly murdered by an unregistered but known sexual perpetrator? 

What about the case of the children under protective services missing for over a month before anyone noticed it? 

Florida lawmakers quickly mandated a law that any child who goes into protective services must be provided daycare by the state of Florida regardless of unemployment, so that there would be a reliable source reporting on the child’s whereabouts every day.

Why the government’s sex offender database is not enough.

Florida parents are increasingly aware of how to get a copy of criminal history in Florida.  You could always go online and lookup the national database for sexual offenders and sexual perpetrators, but this won’t include other vital information like arrest records concerning drug cases, domestic abuse, and even murder.

When should I get a copy of criminal history in Florida?

1. You are moving into a new neighborhood, and you don’t know anything about the neighbors.
2. You don’t feel right about leaving your child alone with a coach or afterschool program.
3. Your child is spending the night at a friend’s house, and you’d like to know more about the parents or relatives.
4. You have started dating, but you want to make sure that person is safe before they know anything about where you or your children live.
5. You are hiring a nanny or babysitter.

Anything and everything that you feel may warrant a complete criminal history, don’t hesitate to check because your child’s safety is worth it.

When parents send their children to school, they are led to think that the children are safe and are to be educated.  When things go wrong in supposedly safe places such as schools, worry would start to seep through.  Such could be the case for parents of students in a school in Colorado Springs. 

Recently, a substitute teacher (surprisingly, 73 years of age) has been accused of trying to offer money to a student so that he could have sex with her.  Lloyd Clark is now facing a felony charge because of this alleged child prostitution solicitation.  The arrest happened at the suspect’s home minus any untoward incidents.  Clark was later released when he was bailed out with $10,000.

If, in case, Lloyd Clark is really guilty of what he is being charged for, it is vexing to think that a teacher could actually have such illicit thoughts towards his students.  This would make one think how safe are schools really?  Are the school halls which were set up for establishing futures now have become halls that hide indecent acts?  And how can parents become vigilant against such filthy acts?

There are no rules set on stone on how young students can avoid incidents such as this.    The governments of numerous countries all over the globe have set up programs which aim to protect children and help those who have become victims of any form of exploitation.  Although most governments care, it is not sufficient for parents to depend solely on them.  The most effective weapon is for the parents to teach their children to be constantly wary and to be able to see the tell-tale signs of a possible sex offender.

It is important for parents to communicate regularly with their children.  Although most ‘probable sex offenders’ have a certain look on them or mannerisms, it is still safe not to trust anyone (even an innocent-looking teacher).  Also, remind them that when a teacher (more so a stranger) begins to look at them in a different way or begins to say things that are inappropriate, it is time to raise red flags.  They could tell their parents or the school officials about the teacher’s inappropriate behavior.
 
Saying no—adamantly, the first time and telling people in authority would immediately deflect any more chances of any untoward incident.  Also, it is best for students to carry a pepper spray around with them (just in case the offender gets down and dirty with them).  Parents cannot be with their children 24 hours each day and so it is important for the kids to be well-trained in defending themselves.  Preparedness is a valuable weapon against any form of attacker.

Two men from Arkansas’ Lonoke County have been slapped with charges of felony after two young women reported sexual abuse by the men. According to a news article, detectives say that the thirty-eight year old Jerrel Campbell exhibited himself as he acted out a sexual act before a girl who was only thirteen years old; he tried to make her take part in the act. Campbell is also accused by the state of showing the thirteen year old, as well as an eleven year old girl, pictures that were sexually explicit. Campbell has also been charged with possession of images and files depicting child pornography. This was articulated by Lt. James Kulesa of the Lonoke Sheriff’s Office. 

Detectives of Lonoke County searched the home of Campbell, which is located on Old Austin Road in Lonoke’s Austin. Once there, they were able to seize several compact disks and computers. According to detectives, this raid and its subsequent investigation also led them to William Edward Coble, a forty-five year old acquaintance of Campbell. Coble was also arrested on charges of child pornography possession, after authorities went to his home in Ward and raided it.

The computers of both Campbell and Coble have already been sent to the crime laboratory of Arkansas state, located at Little Rock, for an even more thorough investigation. Coble is in custody at the Lonoke County jail in replacement of a bond of $15,000, while Campbell has posted bond. According to Kulesa, however, the girls who had reported the crime were not part of the child pornography collection of the men.

This is only one case of child pornography in a world where efforts are being improved in order to better protect children from different forms of exploitation. On websites such as Cyber Rights, organizations aim to better communicate the dangers that children face everyday, and especially from the Internet. Because of the secrecy and anonymity inherent in the design of the World Wide Web, it can be much easier to ensnare children and abuse them; such dangers have become the subject of laws and debate, and have made law enforcement officers all the more worried about how they can work together, even across borders, in order to better shield children.

There are many different ways that children can be exploited online, so if you are worried as the parent of children who like using the Internet, then you can start instructing them on how to protect themselves. Encourage them to report to you if they sense that they are being harassed, and encourage your children to keep away from forums and chat rooms that can be dangerous ground for knowing people.

Singer R Kelly has another controversy added to his name.  Just recently, he has been accused of getting intimate with his publicist’s stepdaughter.  This is the reason why Regina Daniels (R Kelly’s publicist) decided to bail herself out of the singer’s payroll. 

George Daniels (the publicist’s husband) has been discussing with an LA radio station the sex tape that has been reported where Kelly was shown with a young girl and the two being engaged on sexual intercourse.  Mr. Daniels reported, though, that R Kelly did not go to that extreme with his daughter but he did become associated with Maxine Daniels.  Mr. Daniels stated further that his daughter confessed everything to him but when he confronted R Kelly, the singer denied all that Maxine said.  

The other side to the story according to the singer’s released statement is that he was actually persuaded to become closer to his publicist’s stepdaughter.  R Kelly’s spokesman read on the statement that the singer was even invited by Regina Daniels to attend Maxine’s 21st birthday party. 

R Kelly’s spokesman also stated that it was even Regina Daniels who gave the singer’s private phone number to her stepdaughter.  They also suggested the thought that the allegations against R Kelly started to come out only when Regina Daniels was no longer employed by the singer. 

This isn’t the first time that R Kelly has been charged with something that implies sexual misconduct.  He has, in fact, other charges (unrelated to the present controversy with Daniel’s stepdaughter) of 14 counts of child pornography.  The shocking thing about this is that R Kelly has pleaded guilty to these charges. 
 
It is sad to know that famous personalities can even become perpetrators of such indecent acts.  Child pornography is such an act of filth that the sane community should not condone.  Many governments all over the world are working with their citizens to put a stop or at least to minimize child pornography.  They also extend their helping hand to the unfortunate victims of this act. 

Most child porn websites are based in the US according to some reports and it is alarming that their number is constantly growing.  And yet, with the proliferation of child porn sites, the minimum sentence could be as low as five or ten years (with the sentence depending on many factors such as the perpetrator’s age).  It is important to join hands with anti-child pornography programs to protect the future of these innocent children. 

Looking back at R Kelly’s case, it could have been good if the scenario was at the other end of the spectrum where he is a good example to children and teenagers (who happen to idolize him) rather than seeing him admit to all the child porn charges.  Celebrities should learn an important lesson here—that being famous is coupled with responsibility to their audience.

Pictures do speak a thousand words but for a 58-year-old man in Brisbane, Australia, it only meant two words: court time and quite possibly, jail time.  According to Sgt. Kerrilee Lovaszy, a police prosecutor, the man had taken photographs of two young girls, one a 12-year-old and the other, an 11-year-old, using his mobile phone.  He later transferred the images to his home computer.

The images that led to his arrest were photos of the girls’ breasts.  The man, a truck driver, offered to pay $2 for every photo he took.  He was later charged with indecent treatment of minors and will be facing 3 counts for actively soliciting and creating material showing child exploitation.

The Court Magistrate granted the man bail provided he refrained from getting in touch with the girls and their family.

Protecting minors

Possession of photographs showing young children and minors in sexually suggestive poses is considered a felony.  In fact, even minors found in possession of these types of images will be in big trouble.  In Florida, for example, a 16-year-old girl and her 17-year-old boyfriend took photographs of themselves performing sexual acts to each other.  They were later prosecuted for – what else? – violating laws regarding child pornography.  Although one minor becoming sexually involved with another minor is not considered a crime, documenting the act itself is. 

To help parents and guardians protect their children, there are certain laws that may be relied upon.  The most encompassing are laws that cover child pornography and child exploitation.  To expand these laws further, there are also proposals and moves implemented by government personalities to protect children’s rights.  Senator John McCain, for example, had proposed a bill that makes it mandatory for websites to declare any illegal activities and to remove posts made by child sex offenders. These days, anyone accessing sites showing illicit images of children are required by law to report their activities, even if they are just doing it for research or news.

In the U.S., images of children deemed sexually exploitative also have to pass the courts’ 6-pronged test, as a result of United States v. Dost case.  This is to check whether an image is lascivious or not.  Even clothed images of children cannot protect pedophiles, as proven by the United States v. Knox case.

The concern that the recent Brisbane case presented is not only that the young girls were exposed to child predatory behavior but also that the perpetrator was not a stranger.  He was a friend of the girls’ mother.  This case just proves that attacks on young children can happen from the most unexpected sources and other than continued vigilance of parents, governments should continue to produce laws that adapt as tactics of predators evolve.

A spokesperson for the association of Omaha Public Schools told a news group that the district has decided to remove Gellatly from his post in McMillan.  The process of termination is now being processed by the Human Resources Department.  Gellatly was said to have worked as a part-time employee for Omaha Public Schools for the last few years.  It was only in 2008 that his status became full-time.

Gellatly was said to have been arrested on the morning of February 16, 2008.  He is currently facing charges of receiving and having possession of child pornography.  The German investigators who have been keeping track of him believe that the child porn that Gellatly had were only to be found on his home computer but not on his computer at school.  But, all the same, it is tragic to know that even teachers can become predators to innocent children. 

Child pornography is filth and when a child falls prey to sick minds, his future is sure to be affected.  It is a form of sexual abuse in the law of some countries (whether or not actual sexual intercourse is performed).  The proliferation of child porn remains constant and the victims keep adding to the statistics each year. 

To stop child porn, everyone must begin right at their own homes.  Parents should abstain from the act of viewing such sites and should also encourage their children to stay away from such filth.  To become an advocate, you could also lend a helping hand to government agencies which help in stopping and preventing child pornography.  It is also good to note that some major companies are taking action against employees who view child porn sites on their computers at work. 

This is an ongoing battle and the government, along with its vigilant citizens, should be watchful at all times.  Child pornography remains a crime with a long-term negative effect on the lives of its victims yet the sentences handed down to perpetrators remain minimal.  Some sentences could be as low as ten years which could be pretty low for such a putrid act.  This sad reality could only be countered with vigilance—none else.

Michael Eugene Noel, a former teacher and coach at Clinch School was recently indicted and arrested on alleged sexual misconduct which involved two young males.  He was given charges on federal child pornography and it was handed down to him by a federal grand jury on the 12th of February 2008. 

The two young males that he allegedly had sexual encounters with are both students from the school that he was teaching at and Noel was their basketball coach.  It was said that some of the incidents took place during the team’s sleepover at the suspect’s home in Sullivan County. 

Noel who is 36 years of age was primarily given some charges by the Kingsport Police Department on June 28, 2007 along with alleged sexual battery, solicitation of sexual exploitation of a minor, sexual battery by an authority figure, and attempt to commence on an aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor.  After the arrest, Noel was dismissed by the Hawkins County Board of Education.

Authorities pointed out that the suspect forced a 13-year old to arouse him sexually.  That selfsame 13-year old was then eventually commissioned along with a 15-year old to do some sexual acts with the suspect.  The sad part about this whole story is that Noel admitted to these charges.  A $50,000 bond freed the suspect on the arrest. 

The admission of the suspect to this illicit act is the admission of an educator.  This is an implication of the dangers of child pornography—how it could show up even in the most unexpected places.  And with its growth rate ever on the rise, people who care should always be on guard. 

There are many ways to counter child porn.  One effective way is to begin with one’s own home.  Computers at home should be placed in conspicuous areas where no one would be able to view an ‘unclean thing’.  Also, families could actively participate on any programs against child porn that are supported by the government. 

The world has yet to see a serious law against child pornography (especially on the Internet).  And the sentences handed down have yet to be intensified; and while the world awaits this law which would seriously scare offenders from perpetrating child porn further, all that citizens could do is be constantly vigilant in guarding their own homes and their community from such filth.