Police discuss Internet safety for kids during Tuesday’s seminar at Emory H. Markle Intermediate School.
By HEATHER FAULHEFER

The Evening Sun
Posted: 04/22/2009 01:00:00 AM EDT

Penn Township Police Sgt. Guy Hettinger looked at the small group of parents gathered at Emory H. Markle Intermediate School on Tuesday night and told them the hard truth about the Internet.

“The most important thing to know is that anyone can post anything, anywhere at any time,” Hettinger said. “I’m not trying to scare you, but I know I am.”

But along with scary truths about the Internet, Hettinger and Penn Township Police Officer John Carbaugh provided parents with information and tips on Internet safety during Tuesday’s seminar. The seminar was sponsored by the school’s Parent Teacher Organization and was open to the public.

Hettinger told parents that 34 percent of the unsolicited sexual material children are exposed tooccurs online, and while filtering software is highly effective, it cannot stop everything from getting through to children. It’s fairly common for kids to find questionable material by accident, or on purpose, Hettinger said, and kids should be aware that most anything they post on the Internet can be viewed by others.

The topic of Tuesday’s seminar was chosen three months ago and originally was intended for Markle Intermediate School parents, according to PTO president Irene Rainville, but the PTO decided to open it to the public after recent publicity over a South Western teacher’s resignation amid police investigations into child pornography.

Rainville was referring to Matthew Krapf, a Baresville Elementary fifth-grade teacher who resigned April 8. No charges have been filed against him at this time and police have said there is no timeline for the completion of a forensic investigation into the contents of his home computer.

Parents play a key role in making sure their children are safe while online, and their role starts with communication, Hettinger said. Parents should not only talk to their kids about the dangers of the Internet and set rules for Internet use, but also encourage open communication. Kris Fisk attended the seminar with her daughter, Katie, a student at the middle school, and found out that Katie had a second e-mail address Fisk wasn’t aware of.

“That’s something we’ll be talking about,” Fisk said after the seminar. “I do talk to her about the Internet, and there’s more parental control out there, but it’s also more dangerous.”

Hettinger said parents should consider purchasing filtering software and exploring their Internet service’s parental control options to block kids from certain Web sites. There are also dangers attached to most forms of online communication, including e-mail, chat rooms, online bulletin boards and instant messaging, Hettinger said.

Parents should be educated on the lingo kids use to communicate, particularly the acronyms most kids use, he said. For example, kids use the acronym “IRL” to say “in real life,” and this can indicate that they’re giving away personal details that probably should remain private, Hettinger said.

A vague screen name is also good for maintaining privacy. Screen names should not reveal a child’s name, age, gender or anything too personal, so that they are less of a target for pedophiles, Hettinger said.

hfaulhefer@eveningsun.com

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