How to protect your kids from being exploited by internet strangers

RCMP say the former Alberta Partycandidate charged with sexual assault and luring a 14-year-old girl,met the child through a cell phone app.

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"So, they initially started a conversation on a social media application and it basically expanded from there. They set up a meet, they met in real life, an alleged sexual assault occurred and then the child disclosed to her parents and then to the police," said Staff Sgt. John Guigon.

"The more we live online, the more these kind of things aregoing tohappen."

The officer, who heads the InternetChild Exploitation unit with Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), said the incident highlights why parents need to have "tough conversations" with their children about internet strangers.

"They're trying to fit in, they're trying to belong, they're trying to develop relationships. But they don't have the mental capacity or the social capacity to realize that there are bad people out there,"Guigon told the Calgary Eyeopener on Thursday.

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Do you know what apps your kids use?

Along with communicating the risks to their kids around engaging with online predators, Guigon said parents should also know:

• whatapps they're using
• whichdevicesthey've downloaded those apps to
• theirusernames and passwords

"I'm certainlynot advocating, you know, inhibitinga child'sprivacy or right to privacy. But parents need to know who they're talking to and what they're saying," said Guigon.