The danger of a predator that stalks their victims online, the one that moves silently through glowing screens, is that they use cunning to trap those they prey upon. They study the patterns of their victims, learn their rhythm of life through late night posts and quiet confession. To them vulnerability isn’t a tragedy but rather a signal. With unsettling precision they are able to step in and be or say whatever they need to to become whatever their target needs. They lead with understand, compassion. They listen, they mirror, they comfort. They are exactly what their target craves or needs.

Pieces by piece they build trust, an assurance of safety. But behind the carefully chosen words and curated personas lies something sinister. It had been orchestrated in a way that by the time the illusions cracks their victim has already been trapped and the cage that has been so meticulously built around them has consumed them. The greatest weapon of the 21st century against the safety and sanctity of our homes is the internet, because it has allowed predators an opportunity to be stealthy enough to prey on your children and infiltrate your home…from the comfort of theirs.

Sources:

Newspaper articles accessed through Newspapers.com from 2002-2021. Papers include:
The Sun and The Mountain Echo
https://arkansasgravestones.org/view.php?id=821033
Caught in the Web: Four Part Series by Cathy Frye for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Investigation Discovery: Web of Lies Aired 1/15/2014
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-dec-07-na-slay7-story.html
https://www.fbicollector.com/historybaltimoreinnocentimages.html
https://katv.com/community/good-morning-arkansas/officer-shares-personal-tragedy-to-warn-families-and-children-about-online-dangers?fbclid=IwAR3TIHuLlb56dvkRSQ9xaLc0LXJHrz8OmNrIs4LdxOIF8AA2UIv00U84ByE