Child Safety Tips:
CHILD MOLESTER'S
Signs of Abuse

Child Safety Tips: child molesters are far more common than most parents realize as well as very clever - both at manipulating children and at disguising their intentions from parents.

• Never give information to anyone over the phone – take messages only – unless they know the caller well. Better yet for child safety, screen the phone answering machine and pick up only if they know the caller well.
• Keep all doors and windows locked, never let anyone know they're alone, and never open the door to anyone without your OK.
• Burglars often knock on a door to find out if a house is occupied. A child home alone can say, through the closed door or an intercom, “My Dad is sleeping and I don’t know how to turn off the alarm.” Then call 911. Find inexpensive alarms and intercoms in Security Products - Simple Electronic.
• If a predator is already breaking into your home, your child can seek refuge in a Safe Room or Safe Closet equipped with a cell phone for calling the police – as described in Security Products - Safe Room.
• If your child is old enough to be home alone after school (11-12 years old), your child is old enough to learn all the guidelines in this Child Safety section as well as Home Security - Overview.

According to police investigator Lorraine Henderson, "I'm sure sex offenders live in every community out here. You need to know your neighbors." It’s advice Rene Byrun and her family didn’t know about when they recently moved into their home - her next door neighbor is on the Sex Offenders’ Registry. She says, "It shocks me, shocks me because I didn't know how to find out." But a few simple clicks of a mouse and the Sex Offenders’ Registry for child safety is at your fingertips at www.sexualoffenders.com.
Excerpted from WHNS-TV Fox Carolina – 30 October 2003 [See Recap for more child safety web sites.]

Megan's Law was enacted after 7-year-old Megan Kanka was murdered in New Jersey in 1994 by a neighbor who was, unknown to the community, a paroled child molester. Each state has a different version for child safety but all require paroled sex offenders to periodically notify authorities of their addresses. Though a valuable tool, Megan's Law, an honor system, has proven very difficult to enforce. Sex offenders may be homeless or simply prowl outside their neighborhood, or – as 24 percent do nationwide – assume false identities and disappear into thin air.

Something is wrong, the boy's father thought, when he arrived to pick up his son from a cousin's house. His 7-year-old son was sitting on that "nice" neighbor's lap but looked like he didn't want to be there. On the way home, the father asked his son if Ronny had done something to him and that "it would be OK to tell him." Police arrested Ronny later that day. ... Ronald Mahan is a convicted sex offender, but no one knew. Not even the local police. "If they take off and don't give an address, we won't know where they are,” said the manager of the state sex-offender registry. "They are convicted felons – they lie," she said.
Excerpted from The Morning News/NWArkansas – 27 April 2003

Clinical psychologists and researchers weighed in on Joliet (IL) Bishop Joseph Imesch's contention that priests who molest children can be rehabilitated and return to work. The odds, they say, are against the bishop's optimism. Professionals in the field of sex offender treatment said it is difficult or impossible for sex offenders to be "cured." ... "It's rare for a child sexual abuser to ever be completely rehabilitated. The child safety literature says that the rate of recidivism is really high. It's a difficult area to treat. There are people who never abuse again, but the odds are against that. Abusers often are not caught until they have abused several children, developing a pattern that is like an addiction and can be very hard to break," said Dr. Sheila Ribordy, professor of psychology at DePaul University.
Excerpted from The Daily South Town (IL) – 19 April 2002

Like a cat unable to resist its natural impulse to catch birds, paroled child molesters (pedophiles) constantly struggle to control a ravenous craving for children while living freely among them. Rapists average 7 victims before their first arrest and child molesters average 17 – with some victimizing more than 400 children in their lifetime.

BUFFALO NY - A 100-year-old pedophile has been jailed for violating the terms of his parole. Theodore A. Sypnier has a 60-year history of sexually molesting children. Sypnier's 58-year-old daughter told police she and another girl were raped by him as children. ... After his arrest at age 90 for raping a 4-year-old girl, his neighbors recalled a kindly Sypnier giving candy to children and baby-sitting. They never knew of Sypnier's background because he was convicted before laws required sex offenders to register with police. ... Although his age makes him New York's oldest registered sex offender, there is at least one older offender elsewhere. Bert Jackson of Utah is 103 and living under home confinement.
Excerpted from MSNBC.com – 26 January 2010

The serenity of Middleton, Massachusetts was shattered when Christopher Reardon, the local youth minister, Boy Scout leader, and swim coach, was arrested for 130 counts of rape and molestation. ... Police confiscated child pornography and sex toys from Reardon's home and church office. His then-wife also found charts and computerized spreadsheets with notes and descriptions of boys and how he assaulted them. ... "When a parent heard that Chris was taking kids somewhere, it was a seal of approval,'' said Nancy Jones, a sixth-grade teacher. "It's hard to be suspicious of someone who appeared to be doing so much good." ... "Sometimes adults won't pick up on hints of abuse, especially if they point to someone of high standing in a community,'' said a child psychology professor. "If there's a behavior problem or someone seems to be acting out in a strange way," said Jones, "you say in the back of your mind 'where is this coming from?"
Excerpted from The Associated Press – 9, 10 July 2001

Child molesters endear themselves to trusting families to get at their kids. They molest again and again when children aren't believed. Parents doubt that someone so nice could be doing something so horrible. Parents must warily regard anyone with access to their child – just in case for child safety. And a single mother should beware of her boyfriend; molesters often charm a woman to get at her kids - especially adolescent girls.

Police say they've learned how a man who sexually abused 527 children over 35 years picked his victims. "He talked of tactics he used to make the children comfortable and to make the parents comfortable," police said. "He did everything. He volunteered to be a camp counselor so he could do physical exams on children. One of his favorites was to hang out at the deeper end of the local pool. Children would scoot around the edge of the pool and he would help them."
Excerpted from APBnews.com – 01 December 2000

A 2001 University of Pennsylvania study on child safety found that 47 percent of child molesters were relatives; 49 percent acquaintances, such as a teacher, coach or neighbor; and 4 percent strangers. The molesters are usually male – about a quarter of them married with children and are well aware of your concern (or lack thereof) for child safety. (Incidentally, nearly 10 percent of molesters are adult females.)

Using persuasion to gain a child’s trust and manipulating a young mind with fiendishly gentle finesse, the molester will praise, befriend, confuse, seduce, and intimidate the child into long-term abuse.

Little League of America is requiring clubs to perform sex-offense checks of managers, coaches and even snack-bar volunteers beginning with the 2003 season, and other youth sports organizations and clubs are following similar paths. In about 3 percent of the cases, the offenses were serious enough to warrant being thrown out of the league.
Excerpted from ABC News – 21 November 2002

Roughly one man in thirty-three is a child-molester. Everybody knows one, but just don't know who it is. They finagle to be near children – and are popular with them. Oftentimes parents later say, “But the kids loved him!” For the sake of child safety, beware of anyone too willing to aid parents. Anyone seeming too good to be true probably is too good to be true.

Parents often become hysterical when they discover their child has been molested. But just as often disbelief or shame cause them to hush it up. Schools and other groups often hide the truth in order to protect their own reputations. Moreover, high-status molesters often have powerful allies to help hide their crimes.

Pedophiles go online to converse with others like themselves - a disc jockey at parties (“a high concentration of gorgeous” children…); a pediatric nurse (“lots of looking but no touching”); a piano teacher (“I could tell you stories that would make you ...well... I’ll be good”); an employee at a water theme park (“bathing suits upon bathing suits!!!!!”); and a pediatrician specializing in gynecology (“No need to add anything more, I feel”). The most frequent job mentioned, however, was schoolteacher.
Excerpted from The New York Times – 21 August 2006

A pediatrician, Dr. Earl B. Bradley, was charged with the sexual abuse of female patients ranging in age from three months to 13 years, police said. A search discovered graphic videos showing Bradley molesting and raping children. Bradley kept video recordings made in what he called the "Pinocchio" examining room, a toy room in his office where children would get treats and an out-building on the rear of his property where he would escort the children without their parents. In the last recording, a 2- to 3-year-old girl was seen screaming and trying to run away from Bradley.
Excerpted from The News Journal (Wilmington DE) – 19 December 2009

Naturally craving praise and affection, children are easily manipulated – especially by authority figures. Most offenders are never caught and subjected to Megan's Law registration, and background checks often fail.

BOTTOM LINE:
CHILD SAFETY is SIMPLE

Scotland Yard is investigating the international child porn probe known as Operation Ore that found 75,000 subscribers worldwide. In Britain up to 1,300 suspects have been arrested, including 50 police officers, a judge, a magistrate, dentists and a former deputy head teacher.
Excerpted from The Mirror (UK) – 11 January 2003

Child Safety Programs

The "three R's" of Youth Protection convey a simple message to youth members:
* Recognize situations that place you at risk of being molested, how child molesters operate, and that anyone could be a molester.
* Resist unwanted and inappropriate attention. Resistance will stop most attempts at molestation.
* Report attempted or actual molestation to a parent or other trusted adult. This prevents further abuse and helps to protect other children. Let the Scout know he or she will not be blamed for what occurred.

Another superb organization, RadKids.org, covers both child self-defense and all-around child safety tips for ages 5-12. The level of instruction increases for each age group. And it’s a terrific bargain: pay the fee once and your child can come back again and again at no cost at any RadKids location. I HIGHLY recommend it. Even the very best parent cannot possibly cover what RadKids thoroughly does – all in a gentle and fun fashion. (I’d love to see this program expand globally – you can become a certified RadKids instructor and bring this comprehensive lifesaving program to your hometown. Just do it!)

Background Checks for child safety
Find out if someone was ever in a U.S. federal prison (assuming he’s using his real name) or a state prison for a sex crime at www.fbi.gov. Or see www.CriminalSearches.com website (no fee). It also shows a map with names of anyone arrested in a specific neighborhood, and sends you e-mail alerts when someone in your life is arrested or someone with a criminal record moves in nearby. ... However, the above sources are often incomplete, and there’s no way to distinguish between people with the same name if you don’t know their birthdays (and even that date is often missing). Nevertheless, you can always hire a private detective – a simple background check usually costs $50-100.

Personal Safety Devices

Safety Tips for Kids

• Child Safety Tips- Overview
• 911 Calls: how to do it right.
• Child - Molester Safety: the subtle warning signs. (YOU’RE NOW ON THIS PAGE)
• Child Safeguarding from molesters.
• Free-Range Kids vs Myth Busters
• Stranger Danger vs Stranger Safety FAQ
• Child - Internet Safety: the dangers & safeguards.
• Stop Bullying in school, as well as cyber bullying FAQ.
• Child - Outdoor Safety: staying out of harm’s way.
• Child - Kidnapping Escape from a monster.
• Recap & Resources: a summary of Child Safety Tips.
• Security Products - Personal Devices

Return to
Child Safety - Overview
www.Crime-Safety-Security.com HOME PAGE