Online predators lurk close to home

Tools

Online predators lurk close to home

Andrew Donovan

Story Created: Mar 26, 2008 at 8:29 PM EDT

Story Updated: Mar 27, 2008 at 3:55 PM EDT

Online advertisements for prostitution, child pornography and sex predators trolling the internet for victims all sound like things from an episode of Law and Order. The scary part is that those things are happening closer to home than you may think. From prostitution solicitations to child pornography, it is all happening right here in our area.

A Utica Craigslist post, added on monday, offers sexual services for $250 per hour. Others local postings are simply too graphic to show on television and though prostitution is illegal, both Utica Police and the Oneida County District Attorney's office say that they are more concerned about online child pornography and child luring. Sergeant Anthony Martino says sometimes his work involves undercover work in chat rooms.

In fact within 30 seconds of logging online, people were saying hello and within just a few minutes, the graphic questions started flying.

So what advice can be given to ease anxiety? Know what your kids are doing online. Police say a standard rule of thumb should be that if your kid does not know someone in the physical world, they certainly should not be talking to them in the virtual world.

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 500 Characters Left

Comments are moderated and will not appear on this story until after they have been reviewed and deemed appropriate for posting.

NBC-WKTV News Channel 2 and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.

Weather On Demand

Weather Radar
Icon
Current Temp 61 °F
Fair
Wind : From the Southeast at 7 MPH
Humidity : 46 %
Pressure : 29.77" (1008.1 mb) in.
Wind Chill : 60 °F
More Weather

On Demand

AP Video

Stock Quotes

Permanent Client link holder
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

The Italian Chef

The King of Wings - Pizza at its best!

What's On

8.00
most outrageous tv moments
8.30
most outrageous tv moments
9.00
dateline nbc