'Open environment' called key to keeping children from porn

Communication with your children is the best way to protect them from pornography and sexual predators on the Internet.

That and many other tips on combating pornography were shared with approximately 600 people at the Utah Coalition Against Pornography conference Saturday at the South Towne Exposition Center.

Fraser Bullock, co-founder of Citizens Against Pornography, said parents need to "create an open environment of communication with our children" to talk about sex. By establishing clear-cut guidelines and answers to questions before children are confronted online, they will know to act when they encounter pornography and sexual predators, Bullock said.

"Our kids think they are impervious to this kind of influence. Before they know it, they are sucked in and can't get out of it," Bullock said.

Children as young as age 11 are now viewing pornography, said Pamela Atkinson, chairwoman of the Utah Coalition Against Pornography.

With the exploding popularity of social networking sites such as MySpace.com, sexual predators have easy access to children and can hide behind a mask of anonymity, said Cindy Stonebraker, community education specialist for the Utah Attorney General's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

During a workshop titled "Protecting Children Online," Stonebraker showed a video she shares with children that proves how fast a sexual predator can track a child. In a matter of minutes, predators can take basic information posted on the Internet and end up with a child's full name, address, phone number and even a map to the youngster's house.

Parents should talk to their children about the people they are communicating with on these social networking sites, as well as educate children on the dangers of posting personal information on the Internet, Stonebraker said.

"Kids are giving out way too much information," Stonebraker said. "Kids and teens are not able to make adult decisions in terms of what is too much information."

Nearly 1 in 7 youths received unwanted sexual solicitations on the Internet in 2005, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Stonebraker said 70 percent of these solicitations occur in the home.

Stonebraker travels around the state teaching children how to safely navigate the Internet. She teaches three basic principles:

• Tell an adult you trust if something on the Internet makes you scared, uncomfortable or confused.

• Do not give out personal information online.

• Never agree to meet someone in real life who you first met online.

The biggest problem law enforcement faces when combating pornography and sexual predators is parents who don't supervise their children, Stonebraker said.

Parents should know what their children are exposed to on the Internet, Bullock said. Keep the computer in a family room, kitchen or area where adults are present. Install a filter on your computer that sifts out harmful material.

"One of the plagues of pornography is we don't see it — it is hidden," Bullock said. "We need to open the doors and expose it."

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com