OH - Attorney General Mike DeWine is freaking out again - Sex offenders living in nursing homes

Original Article

A friend of ours mother worked in a nursing home and she said many of the people in these places have very serious mental problems, some walk up and down the hall all day screaming "Come here, Come here, Come here," to nobody at all. Attacks of all kinds happen all the time, and many patients walk out the front doors to roam the streets. The people in these places are sick, mentally and physically, this happens all the time, it's nothing new, and something a law won't fix.

02/08/2014

By Tom Meyer

If you have a loved one in a nursing home, they may be living under the same roof as a sex offender -- and have no idea that they do.

An exclusive Channel 3 investigation found 29 sex offenders living in 16 nursing homes in Northeast Ohio. Two of those nursing homes -- one in a small village in Summit County -- had up to four convicted sex offenders living in them.

"You would not want to live in a nursing home or have a loved one live in a nursing home with a registered sex offender," says Mike DeWine, Ohio's attorney general. But many people do, and a loophole in Ohio law means they don't have to be, and aren't, notified.

While the law requires that neighbors of sex offenders are notified by their local sheriff's office when such a felon moves onto their street, the law does not require similar notification for those who actually share the same address.

"It is a well-intended law. It works many times, but there are certainly some holes in it," DeWine says.

The presence of sex offenders in nursing homes is something that occurs in urban, rural and suburban areas.

Kathy and Romolo DeBottis of Sheffield Lake had no inkling that three sex offenders listed the Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Avon as their home. Kathy's father had lived at that nursing home until recently.

"I feel we were deceived," says Kathy.

Her husband agrees, saying sex offenders "shouldn't be in the mainstream population. If they're in a nursing home, they should be in a separate wing."

In Peninsula in Summit County, four sex offenders listed Wayside Farms as their nursing home. In Cleveland, four sex offenders called University Manor on Ambleside their home.

That was news to a young resident there.

"I should know," said the woman, who is confined to a wheelchair. "I'm a female and can't do anything."

One of the sex offenders in this facility sexually attacked a resident in another nursing home before moving into this one.

We tried, in person, to talk to administrators of University Manor and Rudwick Manor, a nursing home in East Cleveland that houses three sex offenders, but we were told to leave. One of the three offenders at Rudwick Manor had committed a sexual crime against his home health care worker before he moved in to this facility.

We left phone messages for the administrators, as well as for the administrators of the Wayside Manor and Good Samaritan nursing homes but received no return calls.

Sondra Miller, president and chief executive officer of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, points to the fact that 75 percent of sex crimes against people older than 65 occur in nursing homes.

She knows of one couple that was married for 40 years when the husband had to put his severely disabled wife into a nursing home. A few months later, she was sexually attacked by a fellow resident. Her husband was devastated and guilt-ridden -- and neither he nor his wife had any idea she was at risk.

"I'm very concerned, because we know sexual predators prey on people they perceive as most vulnerable," Miller says, noting that sexual offenders are often repeat offenders.

Debora Smith's job is to care for those who are vulnerable -- she is a state-tested nurses' aide. It is the people in her profession who provide much of the hands-on care in nursing homes.

Until several weeks ago, she worked at University Manor -- and was never notified that any sexual offenders lived there at the time.

She and other employees should have been told, she says: "So people can be aware of who they're dealing with and know how to approach them."

Some families say they want and need to know if a sex offender lives in the home where their loved one does.

As Romolo DeBottis points out, "It's a disease that never goes away."

And his wife adds, "They'll always have that urge."

Ohio Rep. Tom Letson, who lives in Warren, is the co-sponsor of a bill that would change the law so that residents of long-term care facilities are notified of offenders in their midst.

He was spurred to the legislation because he and his family live two doors away from a nursing home. While they got a postcard telling them a sexual offender had moved in there, no one working or living at the nursing home was notified.

One of the employees there told him, "You got the notice but the people living down the hall from him didn't."

Letson put it this way: "The people who live in the building have the same right to know as the people who live in a house 40 feet away."

He said he is hopeful that his colleagues will vote for the bill's passage. Similar legislation has passed the House before, but not the Ohio Senate.

NY - Sex offender laws must be toughened

Phil Goldfeder

Original Article

Just another politician exploiting ex-offenders, fear, families and children to make a name for himself (See this video)? This is just a placebo to pacify people and lull them into a false sense of security. The city won't be any more safe. Not all ex-offenders harm children, and this is another blanket law that treats all ex-offenders as if they do. If a person is intent on committing a crime, this won't stop them, but the fact is, most sexual crimes occur in the victims own home and family, not at some park or school.

02/08/2014

In an effort to crack down on some of New York’s worst sex offenders, Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Park) said he will introduce legislation that would restrict them from residing within 500 feet or less from any public park with a playground.

“As a parent of two young children, I understand how critical it is that we create stronger laws to keep sexual predators out of areas where our children congregate and play,” Goldfeder said. “I drafted this new legislation to ensure that sex offenders stay out of our public parks and away from our children.”

The bill would fine tune current laws by forbidding level two and three sex offenders – which, according to the state, means individuals at a medium or high risk of re-offense – from living within 500 feet of a public park that has playground. The legislation, Goldfeder said, would close the offender loophole that currently exists and ensure that all parks where children commonly play remain off limits to those convicted of sex crimes.

Current state regulations restrict sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of parks that are attached to school buildings, but no regulation exists for parks that are not aligned with schools.

The legislation comes on the heels of Rockaway parents being outraged last month upon learning two convicted sex offenders moved into the same building on Beach 116th Street – which is situated further than 1,000 feet from the nearest school but is within a few hundred feet of the beach and public parks.

“On behalf of Rockaway parents, I applaud Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder for his quick action and response to our genuine concerns about the safety and wellbeing of our children,” said Irene Dougherty, Parent Teacher Association co-president of the belle Harbor School.

Dorothy McCloskey, director of the Friends of Charles Park, too threw her support behind Goldfeder’s legislation.

“As an advocate for the rebuilding and development of Frank Charles Park, as well as a mother and grandmother living in the community, I believe it is not only important to make our parks beautiful, but also to make them safe and secure from adults who prey upon our defenseless children,” McCloskey said.

Goldfeder has sponsored sex offender legislation in the past, including a bill signed in 2012 that requires registered high-level sex offenders to keep their photos for the online offender registry up to date by having their photo taken every 90 days.

“I will fight to ensure our families and children live in a safe community and that parents have the peace of mind they deserve,” Goldfeder said.

CA - Sex offenders should not be allowed in parks or beaches

Original Article

02/03/2014

By KAYLI CRAIG

In 2012 a law was passed that prohibited registered sex offenders from entering areas where children would likely be present. This in includes parks, playgrounds and beaches. However, according to ABC News the law was overturned in an appeals court in January 2014 because it was said to violate California’s state law.

It is clear the state of California and its cities are not doing all they can to protect the families and children of California by leaving them vulnerable to dangerous criminals.
- Most sexual crimes occur at the victims own home and by their own family, not at a park, playground or beach. If you wanted to protect the children then you'd watch your own family! Ex-offenders also pay taxes on these places and have just as much a right to be there as you do. If they cannot visit these places then they should not have to pay taxes on them!

In May 2012, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas released a statement explaining the conditions of the law that would be put into effect within 30 days. Under this law, if a sex offender entered one of these restricted areas, they would have been charged with a misdemeanor, facing six months of jail time and/or a $500 fine for each separate facility entered. Santa Ana was one of the first cities to pass their new ordinance laws and since then dozens of cities have followed.

However, now with the overturn of this law, registered sex offenders will be allowed in areas with a high population of children. Sex offenders have committed heinous acts and they should not be allowed into parks or beaches.
- So why don't you be a parent and watch your kids?  And not all "sex offenders" have committed "heinous" acts, so stop lumping them all into one group!

Many Americans will argue that there are different types of sex offenders and different degrees of their offenses.
- You are right there.

There are seemingly light hearted stories such as a 21-year-old man getting caught having sex with his underage girlfriend or the drunken person who urinated in public. However according to the law they may still have to register as a sex offender.

These individuals are the severe minority of sex offenders. According to list of offenders that provided by Megan’s Law, most offenders are the ones who have a sick and extremely dangerous attraction to little children.
- That is simply not true.  True pedophiles account for 10% or less of all the ex-offenders in this country.

Although it is obvious some offenders are more severe and violent than others, all restrictions should be the same whether it is putting their address and picture online or preventing them from entering certain areas if it means protection for the children.
- So then why don't we also treat all other ex-felons the same as well?  Put them all on an online hit-list so everybody who lives around them can know their past sins?  What sins have you committed you wouldn't want the world to know about?

Megan’s Law was started after 7-year-old Megan Kanka was raped and brutally murdered by her neighbor.
- True and we already have laws for murderers, so why do we need more laws named after dead children?

“The purpose of the law was to provide an awareness to parents,” Megan Kanka’s mother said. “We never said it was going to stop them from reoffending or wandering to another town.”
- And banning someone from a park or beach won't stop them from committing a crime at a park or beach, if that is their intention!

Although Megan’s Law was not necessarily intended to put restrictions on these offenders other than providing a map of their residences, allowing the sex offenders into tempting areas such as parks or beaches is simply not worth the risk involved.
- You are assuming children are "tempting" to all ex-offenders which is simply BS!

Allowing a registered sex offender to go to a park or the beach is similar, although more severe, to bringing an alcoholic to a bar. For a sex offender, the temptation would be a young child in a bathing suit at the beach. There is an undeniable temptation that arises within these individuals. If it can be avoided then it should be avoided at all costs meaning that the law needs to be put back into effect immediately.
- What a load of BS!  To some this may be true, but you are putting all ex-offenders into one group!

VA - 13News Now Investigates: Sex offenders near school bus stops

Original Article

02/03/2014

By Nick Ochsner

VIRGINIA BEACH - A 13News Now investigation has uncovered hundreds of registered sex offenders living just hundreds of feet from school bus stops.

Our investigation began after Jennifer St. Martin found a registered sex offender living right across the street from her son's bus stop in Virginia Beach. She was shocked to find that on the Virginia State Police's database.

Her shock turned to outrage when school administrators told her they would not move the stop.

The director of transportation for Virginia Beach Public Schools, David Pace, said there are simply too many sex offenders living near school bus stops to change where children gather and wait for the bus.

Instead, Pace said, it's up to parents to make sure their children are safe as they wait for a ride to school.

"We look at this as a partnership with the parent. the safety of that child is the responsibility of the parent, the school bus driver, the school personnel and our transportation staff," Pace said.

Monday night at 6 p.m. on 13News Now, watch what happens as we plug 100 sex offender addresses into the Virginia Beach school bus stop finder.

Follow Up:

• Laws don't prevent sex offenders from living near school bus stops

KY - Authorities warn parents about Internet predators

Original Article

Educating kids and parents is the key to helping put a dent in sexual abuse, not fear and bogus statistics, not the exploiting of ex-offenders and children for ones own personal gain.

We have no doubt that there are people who use the Internet to commit crimes, but show us the proof of where KNOWN sexual offenders are increasingly using the Internet to target children!

The very laws to "protect" children are ruining their lives!

01/22/2014

The Kentucky State Police used their latest episode of KSP-TV (video below) to warn parents about the dangers of Internet predators. The video shares an inside look at the agency’s Electronic Crimes Branch and the intricate work that takes place to protect children from online predators.

KSP spokesman Tpr. Paul Blanton says the Internet has become an important part of everyday life – for information, communication and entertainment.

“The most technology receptive segment of our population is young people,” says Blanton. “It’s an unfortunate fact of life that along with the many resources the Internet provides there are also online predators stalking our youth.”

Blanton says the problem with the Internet is that parents can’t see the predators that may be after children. That’s why he says it’s important for parents to talk to their children about what can happen with strangers on social media.

“Parents need to be open and honest with their teens. They need to tell them about the dangers that are out there. Sometimes we don’t think our teens listen to us, but they do,” he said.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), there are nearly 750,000 registered sex offenders in the United States. An increasing number of those individuals are utilizing the Internet to find their victims.
- Show us the proof of the statement!

KSP Detective Josh Lawson works in the Electronic Crimes Branch and says a majority of victims of Internet-initiated sex crimes are between the ages of 13 and 15 years old.
- And based on a huge study of this, most are propositioned by their own peers not known registrants or adults.

“The key to safeguarding your children is an open line of communication. You want to know who your children are talking to face to face. You wouldn’t let them talk to any stranger on the street, especially about intimate things,” says Lawson. “Why would you let them talk to someone on the Internet about even more intimate things?”

In 82 percent of online sex crimes predators used the victim’s social media site to gain information about the youth. Only 18 percent of youth use chat rooms but a majority of the Internet sex crimes are initiated in chat rooms.

Blanton says parents need to set ground rules with their children.

“Have the computer in a common room. Know your children’s passwords on social networking sites and talk to your children about what they are doing online,” adds Blanton. “If parents won’t, someone else will and that person could be a sexual predator hiding behind a computer.”

Blanton hopes the KSP-TV video segment will be a tool used by parents and teachers to create an open dialogue with young people about the dangers lurking beyond their computer screens.

The NCMEC recommends the website www.netsmartz.org as another valuable resource for parents and educators to utilize when talking to youth about Internet safety.

MN - Sex offender dispute gets political

Original Article

This just shows that they don't want people to get out of civil commitment and that they love to exploit ex-offenders, fear and children for their own political agenda!

11/08/2013

By PATRICK CONDON

ST. PAUL (AP) - The fate of a convicted rapist up for release from Minnesota's sex offender treatment program became a potential issue Friday in next year's governor's race.

Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, up for re-election next year, is at odds with his fellow Democrat, Attorney General Lori Swanson, who wants to block the state from releasing _____. Dayton is backing his human services commissioner, Lucinda Jesson, who doesn't oppose _____'s provisional release from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program.

Dayton's position drew fire from state Rep. Kurt Zellers, one of the Republicans vying to run against him next year. At a Capitol news conference, Zellers said he believes _____ is still dangerous and that the state should keep him in custody indefinitely.
- So is Mr. Zellers an expert in the field of treating ex-offenders, or is he just using this for his election campaign?

Zellers, a former House speaker from Maple Grove, said the primary job of elected officials is to "protect the people you represent. Letting Mr. _____ go would be failing in that duty."
- Your job is to also obey the constitution and other peoples rights, which you are failing at!

Minnesota's treatment program allows offenders who finished prison sentences to be indefinitely confined. It's the subject of a class action lawsuit by people who say they have little chance to go free even if they successfully participate in treatment. Only one person has ever obtained a successful conditional discharge from the 18-year-old program.

Eric Magnuson, a former state Supreme Court justice, has said the state is at risk of having a judge dismantle the program in a way that's objectionable to state policymakers and residents. He's leading a state task force to recommend alternatives to state legislators.

_____, 58, was convicted three times of sexually assaulting teenage girls. After finishing prison terms, he has been civilly committed to treatment since 1991. A Department of Human Services panel has recommended his supervised discharge, which is supported by his program treatment team. Jesson did not oppose that recommendation, but asked for an independent examination of _____ before a hearing on his request before a panel of state judges.

Bob Hume, a spokesman for Dayton, said Zellers is wrong to suggest that Dayton or administration officials have the authority to hold such offenders for life. He also said it's wrong to suggest that _____'s release is imminent, noting that the new examination would happen in January and that the judicial panel would have time to weigh the findings.

The administration plans to make recommendations to lawmakers ahead of next year's session on possible legal changes related to sex offenders, Hume said.

Swanson opposes _____'s release, citing experts who as recently as 2012 found _____ was still potentially dangerous. On Friday, Swanson's office was before the judicial panel asking it to set an evidentiary hearing in the matter similar to a trial.

Zellers acknowledged the legal threat facing Minnesota's program. But he said if it were struck down while he was governor, he would push for the state to fight releases on a case-by-case basis.
- But aren't these already on a case-by-case basis?  So you'd be doing nothing new!

Zellers is one of four leading Republicans hoping to challenge Dayton next year.

Hennepin County Commission Jeff Johnson said he believed it would be a bad idea to release _____. But he said it's wrong to politicize an issue that he said needs a bipartisan solution.

"If I were governor, I would be checking politics and press conferences at the door and working overtime with leaders from both parties to figure this out," Johnson said. "The governor and the Legislature are going to need to find an alternative to the system we have or the court's going to do it for us, and I guarantee we won't like the way that looks."

The other candidates, businessman Scott Honour and state Sen. Dave Thompson, sounded similar notes. Honour said Zellers had the opportunity to do more about the issue when he was House speaker — echoing a criticism leveled by Dayton's spokesman.

"Clearly this is a dangerous person," Thompson said. "But in the long term, we are going to have to confront what is potentially a legitimate constitutional challenge to our civil and criminal commitment laws."

FL - Audit finds low recidivism, critiques reliance on inflated Static-99 risk estimates

Fragile Flower

Original Article

10/27/2013

By Karen Franklin, Ph.D.

Dan Montaldi’s words were prophetic.

Speaking to Salon magazine last year, the former director of Florida's civil commitment program for sex offenders called innovative rehabilitation programs "fragile flowers." The backlash from one bad deed that makes the news can bring an otherwise successful enterprise crashing down.

Montaldi was referring to a community reintegration program in Arizona that was derailed by the escape of a single prisoner in 2010.

But he could have been talking about Florida where, just a year after his Salon interview, the highly publicized rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl is sending shock waves through the treatment community. Cherish Perrywinkle was abducted from a Walmart, raped and murdered, allegedly by a registered sex offender who had twice been evaluated and found not to meet criteria for commitment as a sexually violent predator (SVP).

Montaldi resigned amidst a witch hunt climate generated by the killing and a simultaneous investigative series in the Sun Sentinel headlined "Sex Predators Unleashed." His sin was daring to mention the moral dilemma of locking up people because they might commit a crime in the future, when recidivism rates are very low. Republican lawmakers called his statements supportive of "monsters" and said it made their "skin crawl."

Black Swan

Montaldi's comments were contained in an email to colleagues in the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, in response to the alarmist newspaper series. He observed that, as a group, sex offenders were "statistically unlikely to reoffend." In other words, Cherish Perrywinkle’s murder was a statistical anomaly (also known as a black swan, or something that is so rare that it is impossible to predict or prevent). He went on to say that in a free society, the civil rights of even "society's most feared and despised members" are an important moral concern. A subscriber to the private listserv apparently leaked the email to the news media.

The Sun Sentinel series had also criticized the decline in the proportion of paroled offenders who were recommended for civil commitment under Montaldi's directorship. "Florida's referral rate is the lowest of 17 states with comparable sex-offender programs and at least three times lower than that of such large states as California, New York and Illinois," the newspaper reported.

Audit finds very low recidivism rates

Fear Mongering?

In the wake of the Sun Sentinel investigation, the Florida agency that oversees the Sexually Violent Predator Program has released a comprehensive review of the accuracy of the civil commitment selection process. Since Florida enacted its Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) state in 1999, more than 40,000 paroling sex offenders have been reviewed for possible commitment. A private corporation, GEO Care, LLC, runs the state’s 720-bed civil detention facility in Arcadia for the state's Department of Children and Families.

Three independent auditors -- well known psychologists Chris Carr, Anita Schlank and Karen C. Parker -- reviewed data from both a 2011 state analysis and an internal recidivism study conducted by the SVP program. They also reviewed data on 31,626 referrals obtained by the Sun Sentinel newspaper for its Aug. 18 expose.

All of the data converged upon an inescapable conclusion: Current assessment procedures are systematically overestimating the risk that a paroling offender will commit another sex offense.

See Also:

• FL - Review of Florida’s Sexually Violent Predator Program (09-23-2013) (PDF)

Read the rest of the article

CA - Sex Offenders Driven Out By 'Pocket Parks'

Joe Buscaino

Original Article

The REAL reason you are seeing this is due to the residency zones which do nothing to prevent crime or protect anybody, but they force ex-offenders into clusters and in areas like this. If the residency restrictions, which don't work, were repealed, then ex-offenders could live where they wanted and this wouldn't be an issue, but we all know politicians don't care about the truth and facts, only what can make themselves look "tough" on crime.

10/12/2013

By Greg Milam

Communities in the US who say their neighborhoods have been blighted by high concentrations of registered sex offenders have found an unusual way of driving them away.

The phenomenon of 'pocket parks', which are built on patches of waste land, is spreading across the country and forcing sex offenders to move out.

Under Jessica's Law (Wikipedia), which is named in honor of nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford who was abducted and murdered by a convicted sex offender, anyone on the register cannot live within 2,000 feet of a park or school.

Because of that, communities that are considered "park poor", with few schools or play areas, have become havens for high concentrations of registered offenders.

Local people have taken to calling them "perverts' row".

Civil rights campaigners claim the parks are driving sex offenders underground and do nothing to make children any safer.

However, communities argue it is a demonstration of people power.

In Harbor Gateway, a working-class neighbourhood close to the Port of Los Angeles, a former patch of waste ground close to a busy junction is now home to a new playground.

It often stands unused but since it was built, dozens of registered sex offenders who lived in the area, including more than 30 in one small apartment block, have been forced to move on or face violating their probation or parole.
- So much for the Constitutional issue of ex post facto laws (Wikipedia).  These people should be grandfathered in, otherwise it's an unconstitutional law / park.

Council member Joe Buscaino (Wikipedia), a former Los Angeles police officer who now represents the Harbor Gateway district, pushed for the playground to be built.

He told Sky News: "Parents would live in fear, close their curtains shut and lock their doors, and we sent a message loud and clear that we shouldn't have to live this way."
- And we shouldn't have to live with politicians who love to exploit fear, children and ex-offenders, but we don't see you passing a law against that!

Pocket parks are being built from Florida to Oklahoma as more communities learn of their impact.

The LA suburb of Wilmington is another that has become home to high concentrations of registered sex offenders, many of whom live in former hotels. A soon-to-be-opened playground will change that.

Mum-of-two Corina Larios, who lives near the site, said: "I used to worry about me or my kids being out at night."
- So how is a pocket park changing that?  You are out at night when kids shouldn't be in the park in the first place.

"It is terrible that they feel that they can come and throw all of the undesirables into our city ... and we're upset because there are a lot of good families here."
- If you are upset, then you need to tell the politicians to get rid of the residency restrictions that force ex-offenders to cluster in your area, then it wouldn't be a problem.

Those who campaign for the rights of registered offenders say the parks simply make it harder to monitor them and suggest they are unconstitutional and misguided.

Janice Belluci, president of California Reform Sex Offender Laws, said: "The people who are already on the sex offenders' registers are the least likely to sexually assault their children, with the rate of re-offence less than 2%."

"The people most likely to assault your child are family members, teachers, coaches and members of the clergy."

Local police applaud community action but say society needs to find an answer to where rehabilitated registered offenders should go.

LAPD sergeant Catherine Plows told Sky News said poorest neighborhoods often suffer the most.

"Does that make it right for them to endure an inordinate number of sex offenders being placed here? No, it doesn't," she said.
- Well, like we said, get rid of residency restrictions and this wouldn't be an issue any more.

"There is no magical island they can be placed on. In the end they are human beings and they have the same rights as we do."
- They are suppose to, and since they don't, that is why these laws are unconstitutional.

FL - Experts: Social networking a "playground" for predators

Original Article

10/08/2013

By Isabel Mascarenas

TAMPA - Parents teach children at a young age to not talk to strangers, but it's a lesson that seems lost when it applies to the Internet, a place cyber crimes experts call a playground for predators.
- The term "predator" covers more than just sexual crimes! The Internet is also a "playground" for many other criminals as well, like identity thieves, spammers, hackers, hate groups, etc, but those don't stir up emotions like the sex offender hysteria. Technology is always exploited by people and always will. If someone is intent on committing a crime they will. Parents and schools should be teaching kids common sense and educating them on sexual abuse, privacy, security, etc, not fear mongering BS!

Every time a teenager turns on their smart phone, computer, iPod, Xbox, or any electronic device with Internet access, there are countless of places to travel to and meet people.

"All the bad people in the world have access to you if you have access to them ... With technology, it's becoming a target-rich environment for pedophiles, for people preying on children," says Detective Bill Lindsey with the Cyber Crimes Unit at the Pasco Sheriff's Office.
- Based on the true definition of pedophile, pedophiles are rare and not the norm like the media continually tries to make it seem.  Just because someone molests a child, that doesn't mean they are a pedophile!

Lindsey says one popular site is Meetme.com. It claims to have 90 million members as young as 13 years old. Until last year, users knew it as Myyearbook.com, described on Facebook as "a social networking site for teens." Members have live webcams, where Lindsey says predators solicit videos and pictures.

Lindsey says, "The kinds of adults that are getting on Meetme.com and meeting children are doing that with malicious intent."

Unlike sites such as Facebook that will match one up with mutual friends or interests, sites such as Meetme.com will recommend people based on where one lives. 10 News checked for sexual offenders and predators and found 314 within a 5-mile radius.

Lindsey says, "It's terrifying. Parents don't know how much danger their children are in."
- If the parents and schools were educating their children, then this wouldn't be much of an issue, now would it?

Lindsey says teens often give away too much information online, listing schools, interests, and hangouts, providing predators with a road map to them and to trouble.

"We've had juveniles who have met adults online because they were their suggested friends, and adults take advantage of that online relationship, set up meetings in person, and engage in unlawful sex with minors," says Lindsey.

"In my situation, he wasn't a predator. He was a normal guy who swept me off my feet. I fell in love with him," says 18 year old Alexis Carrascos. Her nightmare began when she is 16 years old. She says, "To think all this started online from me posting a little too much information."

When Alexis met her ex-boyfriend, she thought it was a chance encounter. Later in the relationship, she learned he stalked her on Facebook first through mutual friends and pictures she'd tag online while out with those friends.

Alexis says, "If I could go back and un-tag myself in all those locations I would. It could have saved me a lot of trouble, a lot of heartache, a lot of lessons I think I learned too early in life."
- You can as far as we know.

Alexis says three months into the relationship she learned her 17-year-old boyfriend was really 18, and she says he became aggressive. Alexis says, "He started being very pushy, very jealous, very controlling."

And she says he became very violent, from grabbing her to punching walls. The break up included a restraining order against him. "He would stalk me," she says.

Alexis says she needed therapy plus extra protection. Alexis started carrying a taser and a trained dog for protection. Six months after the relationship ended, she's learning to trust again. "I'm still very alert with who sees my things, who likes my things, who's my friend on Facebook or Instagram or whatever."
- This is how everybody should be.  Don't post personal information at all.

Her advice to teens is to use caution online. She says, "If you don't know them, don't friend them. You don't need to necessarily tell people where you are because it's so easy for a predator, anybody that looks like a normal person, to become a stalker, to become possessive or abusive, lead to something that you don't want."

Meetme.com says it has "zero tolerance for abuse" and has staff to monitor images posted 24/7, Lindsey says, "Meetme.com is the most proactive of the social media online at policing their own website. They make an incredible amount of complaints to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children."

Detective Lindsey and Alexis say that doesn't replace parents from keeping an eye on their kids' online activities.

Alexis says, "This generation, we're too friendly. We think no one is going to cause us harm."

Detective Lindsey advises parents to know their child's passwords and frequently review each account with them. Also, make sure each friend is someone they know. And don't stop at Facebook; he suggests checking all their online accounts, including messaging sites such as kik, Twitter and Instagram.