Tips for Keeping Your Children Safe from Pedophiles

Parents try to keep their children safe. Some have checked the sex offender web sites and know where the pedophiles are in their area. They may warn their children against talking to strangers. They don't let their children go into stranger's houses by themselves. Is this enough?

No. There are other steps you can take to protect your child from pedophiles.

There are numerous web sites where you can check for sex offenders. Not all sex offenders are considered the same and not all are pedophiles. Pedophiles attack children.

Level one is for those that are the lowest threat level to the community to become repeat offenders. This group includes the 18 year old who may have fooled around with his 17 year old girlfriend, or perhaps that drunken college kid who mooned a police officer. There is no community notification for these offenders.

Level two is for those who are an intermediate risk to the community. These people could return to criminal behavior so the community is notified.

Level three are for those who pose a high risk to the community. The offender has a history of predatory sex crimes, has been convicted of a dangerous crime, or is diagnosed as a serial predator. Law enforcement will notify the community.

These websites have helped parents to protect their children from pedophiles, but what if the sexual predator looks outside his neighborhood for his next victim?

On January 11, 2008 the Deer Valley Unified School District in Glendale, Arizona, sent a letter home to parents to warn them of an attempted abduction of one of their students. A child was stopped by a person in a big, older car and told to "get in the car." Fortunately that student went home immediately and told her father who contacted the police and filed a report. Of course the first thing you should do if you have information is call the police but then also call the school district's Safe School Hotline at 623.376.3262. We need to spread the word to stop this pedophile from harming our children.

Early in the week Church of Joy, a church that has a very large daycare and child center, reported a suspicious vehicle in their parking lot. After an investigation the police found that the owner of the vehicle was a registered sex offender who does not live in the community. The vehicle was an older GMC white van with license plates 813-YTW. Was this person stalking their next victim? They could have been, and maybe because someone took the time to contact the police a child was saved.

Both incidents hit really close to home for me. It was my 8 year old niece's school that sent the letter home. Church of Joy is just down the street from my son's old daycare. In fact you can see the church from the parking lot. The thought that he could have been there with a sex offender nearby chilled me to the bone. I informed the daycare who had no idea about these incidents. My son may not go there anymore, but they still needed to know. Information is very important to protect our children from pedophiles.

A great resource to protect you child is a book written by Jan Hindman called "A Touching Book." This book helps to educate children about sexual abuse. The book is written in a non threatening way and helps to teach your child to judge whether contact with an adult is appropriate or inappropriate. It is written directly for children including cartoon illustrations. I am in no way affiliated with this author, I just found the book to be a very valuable tool in protecting my child from pedophiles.

The State of Arizona Department of Public Safety's website states "Sex offenders come from all walks of life and from all socio-economic groups. They can be male or female, rich or poor, employed or unemployed, religious or non-religious, educated or uneducated, and from any race." Just because some seems nice doesn't mean they are nice.

My favorite childhood priest was the very charismatic Father Dale Fushek. He was known for working to bring children and especially teens back into the Catholic Church. I remember having to get to church early for his teen mass because the seat would fill up quickly and people would stand in the back. At the time of his arrest in 2005 for sex abuse crimes he had already resigned as Vicar General. He has not been found guilty and says he is innocent. This trial is one I will be watching very closely.

A church is a place where you might feel safe with your children. Just remember a priest or a pastor is in a perfect position to take advantage of a child. Parents instinctively trust that they are an extension of God's hand and would never harm their children. Most of the time that is the case, but it just takes one evil person to harm your child. Also do not let your child walk around the church by themselves, even to go to the bathroom. Children have been taken, even in this holy place.

Make sure you are doing everything you can to protect your child from child predators. A key way to protect your child from pedophiles is to communicate with them and to keep your eyes open. Do you notice a strange vehicle or person? Contact the police. If a child looks like they are in trouble, stop to help. If you are wrong and the situation is innocent, the police will move on. It is better to be too vigilant than not enough when it comes to a child safety.

Sources:

AZ Sex Offenders

RegisteredOffendersList

Sex offender web site

National center for missing or exploited children