Endorses stress apps awareness after missing 13-year-old Edmonton girl found alive in US – Edmonton

After a 13-year-old girl went missing for over a week and was found alive in Oregon this weekend, child protection advocates are once again calling for social media education and app awareness for parents, guardians and children.

The Edmonton teenager was last seen around 8:30 a.m. on Friday, June 24 in the area of ​​131 Avenue and 91 Street, which is adjacent to Killarney Junior High School. Edmonton police said she was found in Oregon on the morning of July 2.

A 41-year-old man is being held in custody on charges of child abduction. Edmonton Police said more charges could follow as the investigation continues.

In an FBI statement Saturday, the Portland field office said it helped arrest 41-year-old Noah Madrano for allegedly luring a 13-year-old girl from Canada to the United States

The Oregon City Police Department later confirmed that Madrano was arrested on July 2 at the request of the FBI and that he will appear in court Tuesday afternoon on the Oregon State charges he is being held on: kidnapping II, sexual abuse I and rape II

Several organizations were involved in the investigation, including ALERT (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams), the Northern Alberta Internet Child Exploitation Unit, the Oregon City Police and the FBI.

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The number of online baits is skyrocketing

In general, Cybertip’s Stephen Sauer says that lure and sexual exploitation are more likely to take place exclusively online. Cybertip collects many reports of incidents where there has been pressure to share sexually explicit photos or for teens to participate in live streams.

“Attracting children to the internet is almost a sense of urgency for us. We see an unprecedented number of children being enticed or nurtured.
Someone is communicating with them to commit a sex offense against them,” says Sauer.

“That increase is about 120 percent over the past six months based on the numbers we’re seeing.

“We’re getting an average of about 155 reports a month right now… from teens conversing with someone who has been sexually exploiting them online.”

It’s less common for things to escalate to an in-person meeting, he says.

According to Sauer, children are more involved than ever on online platforms and criminals see this as an opportunity.

“Snapchat and Instagram are currently used very heavily for this type of activity. About 77 percent of the reports we’ve received through the tip hotline related to online baiting are related to Snapchat or Instagram.”

Little Warriors sees similar spikes in kid baiting online.

dr Wanda Polzin Holman, the organization’s clinical director, says offenders appear to target different populations. There have recently been child exploitation alerts in Alberta, targeting boys ages nine to 13, she says.

“This is a really significant problem and I think over the last few years – with COVID and with kids and young people having more access to computers and online use and parents not necessarily being up to speed – this has opened up Gateway for child molesters like we’ve never seen before.”

“It’s a bit slower for the girls,” adds Sauer. “What we’re seeing is that they believe they’re in a relationship with a colleague of the same age and that what’s happening to them is part of a normal relationship with that person. Often there is a lot of persistence from the person dealing with them.”

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Alberta police are concerned about the rise in cases of child baiting

Advice for parents and guardians

“They should have regular conversations with their kids about technology, understand a little bit more about that technology, and give their kids the tools to understand where the red flags are,” says Sauer.

“If there’s persistence, when someone asks for something you’re uncomfortable with, that you come to a parent or safe adult in your life to let them know about that situation.”

He says that at this point the child should stop all communication with that person, the adults can keep some records of the interaction and then contact Cybertip or their local police force.

Polzin Holman says Little Warriors is trying to educate young people and carers about the risks and warning signs.

“We also see many incidents referred to as sextortion.

“We know kids who send images back and forth, but they don’t realize and don’t realize that those images can then potentially become part of the internet and that those images can be shared, which can be really traumatizing for them,” she says.

According to Polzin Holman, even the most benign apps can exhibit criminal behavior.

“Being aware that many interactions are happening in ways that parents and guardians may not be aware of across different platforms like games… like Road Blocks or Minecraft.

“They think they are talking to another child online, but this is a place where there is child abduction.

“Parents and guardians need to keep the conversation going, talk to their kids about it, set boundaries, make sure there are ways to set up parental controls on their devices, check in and keep lines of communication open.”

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Predators could play online games with your child

Edmonton Police Service Insp. Brent Dahlseide also stresses the importance of open communication.

“When I myself, as a parent, communicate with my children — about what they’re doing on social media or other media platforms, being aware of who they’re hanging out with, who they’re communicating with, what information they actually have, personal information or something else – I think that might help eliminate the luring opportunity that individuals might try to take advantage of.

“Don’t be afraid of this communication between parents and young people,” says Dahlseide.

Increase in online exploitation of children

Between March 2020 and March 2021, the Canadian Center for Child Protection (C3P), which runs the national tip-line Cybertip.ca, saw an 88 percent spike in reports – many of them involving predators communicating via social media and live Streaming platforms such as Snapchat, Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger and Omegle connected with young people.

Sergeant Kerry Shima of Northern Alberta’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit recommends parents download the apps their children use and try the video games for themselves.

Shima said there are undoubtedly many cases that have gone unreported – with the victim and parents trying to handle the situation on their own. He stressed the importance of reporting to the police.

“Not only can it help her family, but other investigations as well.”

Social Media Companies “Bear Huge Responsibility”

“I think we’ve unfairly put the burden on parents to figure this out,” said Signy Arnason, deputy executive director of the Canadian Center for Child Protection, “and quite frankly, it’s a bit ridiculous.

“You can’t keep track of everything your child does online.

“Companies have a huge responsibility for what needs to change here, and so do governments. So we have to demand more.”

There is also a reporting tool on Cybertip.ca and steps to take when a youth is being sexually assaulted.

— With files from Demi Knight, Global News