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Authorities said man hasn't committed a crime, but his actions are typical "grooming" behavior.Jun 28, 2011 (KCPQ/KMYQ-TV - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- BAINBRIDGE ISLAND -- It's every parent's cyber-nightmare -- an internet predator stalking their child. A mother on Bainbridge Island believes a man half a world away, inItaly, used social media to target her son. The image of a pizza delivery man is the logo he uses. Facebook is one of the most popular sites on the Internet and connects friends all over the world, but it can also be a portal for an adult predator looking for their next target. According to police, the man in this case lives in Italy and has not yet technically committed a crime. (It is Q13FOX News policy to not identify people that have not be charged with a crime.) The man has hundreds of Facebook friends, the vast majority of them young boys and more than 60 of them are from Western Washington. Dee Johnson said she found out the 29-year-old man had friended her 12-year-old son while she was routinely monitoring his Facebook page. When Johnson was on her son's account, the man started a chat with her. "This person was so persistent that I decided to go in and see who he was and right away I knew that he wasn't someone that should be friends with my son," Johnson said. She immediately started to investigate more and what she found still has her shaken. "I had to walk away from the computer and try to calm down for a few minutes and not let myself throw up or overreact." Using an English translation program, the man apparently scours Facebook looking for young boys. He then looks at their Friends list to make a connection by mentioning names the boys know and a chain reaction begins. "Because of the nature of it, it almost spreads like a virus, contact virus, person-to-person because he is using Friend lists," Johnson said. She added that the man "tries to look for places in their lives with their parents or school or wherever where they have some door [open] where he can make a bond with them." There is often a common pattern among predators. Commander Sue Shultz of the Bainbridge Island Police Department said predators engage their potential victims by "convincing them they are a friend, that they are willing to listen, that they care about them. They're supportive when the child maybe feels that no one else in their life is supportive." Bainbridge Island Police and the FBI Cybercrimes Unit are investigating the case, but so far it appears the man has done nothing wrong although he did send this carefully worded message to one boy: "Would you like to come to Rome? Come see Italy? But it cost a lot of money." Police say it is classic behavior called "grooming" often used by pedophiles. "The goal of a groomer is to get a young child to trust them and become a victim," Shultz said. Johnson urges parents to check their child's friends list and de-Friend unfamiliar people their child doesn't know. In some cases, they should block the person all together. Parents are also urged to monitor their child's computer usage no matter what social networking sites they visit. "Just a warning to parents. It's not innocent. It's not harmless. It's there and you have to be involved," Johnson said. Facebook isn't the only place where kids are being targeted. The FBI's Cybercrimes Unit said that they are also monitoring Twitter accounts and other social media sites for predators looking for victims. Last week, for example, the unit removed a disturbing site targeting young girls after other Twitter users started complaining. To see more of KCPQ/KMYQ-TV, go to http://www.q13fox.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, KCPQ/KMYQ-TV, Seattle Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |