"If a 5-year-old asks what sexual abuse is, you don't want to go into much detail about what that might mean," he said.

The same question from a 14-year-old might produce, of necessity, a different, perhaps more detailed answer.

Darrell Jordan, assistant professor of social work at Abilene Christian University, said it's important for parents to emphasize that "no adult or parent has any authority or right to seek a sexual relationship with a child."

"Parents may want to reassure their children that they're not at risk of something of this nature occurring in their own home," he said.

Singg said that when dealing with specific questions of faith, it is fine to fall back on the personal values one wishes to impart and instill.

"You need to make clear to them that the majority of people ... do not believe this to be right," she said.

Copeland said he felt that parents could "absolutely" help their children create the ability to discern things for themselves.

Instead of simply saying something is wrong or that "we don't do that," parents can instead ask their children if they think certain behavior is right or fair.

"That will make them think it through and come up with their own answer," he said. "They'll internalize that. It's sometimes a better approach than you just giving them an answer."

Children must develop and learn to think through such issues for themselves, he said.

"I think it's probably one of your top jobs as a parent," Copeland said.