The Internet can be a dangerous place for children. One police
detective is working hard to nab sexual predators and keep our
Gilroy world a bit safer
Kudos to Gilroy Police Detective Mitch Madruga for catching four Internet predators in the last 20 months. Madruga poses as a teenage girl in chat rooms or, most recently, on MySpace.com. When a child molester wanna-be solicits him, he sets up a date … and shows up with other officers to bust the scumbag.
Madruga’s MySpace venture illustrates the extent of the problem. He posted an alias of a 13-year-old girl whose picture showed a short skirt and bare midriff. (Many flesh-and-blood girls post pictures of themselves in their underwear or nude.) Hundreds of men contacted him.
Internet solicitation is a three-part problem, involving children, parents and predators. Millions of children spend time online; 75 million people have posted profiles on MySpace alone.
Many children, perhaps most, are risk takers, lacking the experience and judgment necessary to avoid danger and evaluate character. Many children, especially those who are lonely or going through tough times, are vulnerable to an adult who hides his ulterior motives behind a show of interest. And many are inadequately supervised.
Incredible as it may sound, there are still parents who do not know that cyberspace can be a dangerous place for unsupervised children. There are also parents who do not supervise adequately because they do not have time, because of job demands, single-parent status or a combination. And there are parents who lack the technological savvy to check on their children’s Internet escapades.
Then there are the child molesters, who have probably always existed in every society, but the Internet is proving to be their tool of choice. They can surf through 75 million MySpace profiles and untold numbers of chat rooms. They can contact victims without the risk of running into an irate parent. They can even contact their fellow child molesters to chat about how harmless their hobby is and how misunderstood they are.
Madruga’s good works go far beyond nabbing four predators. His work demonstrates to parents and children that the Internet is a dangerous place and that supervision is needed. He educates the technically challenged public about the foolhardy risks our children are taking. Finally, predators may be a little more hesitant to solicit a child if they know that “child” may be equipped with a badge and handcuffs.
On behalf of Gilroy and our children, thank you, Detective Madruga!
