A Final Word

The myth exacerbating parents' unfounded fears is that unsuspecting children are being found
on the Internet and being lured into a sexual relationships. The truth is this: If your child isn't
looking for sex on the Internet, your child will not be found. With over 1.5 million domain
names and 40 million hosts, how do two people "find" each other on the Internet? It's done the
same way two people find each other in a city with millions of inhabitants. They go to an area
where they share common interests.

For instance, if you are a biker and new in town, you go to a biker show, a biker rally, a biker bar,
or a bike sales room to find other bikers. If you are gay and new in town, you might go to a gay
bar or see a gay band. In all the cases our office has seen, the "minor" is a policeman--an adult--
who goes into adult sexual chat rooms. The problem is that in a world built entirely on fantasy,
the other person--the victim of the sting--cannot know who is behind the mask. He or she cannot
know what is reality.

Furthermore, the myth that the homosexual will find a child in his/her bedroom via the monitor
and then recruit them into the gay lifestyle is a product of hysteria and media hype. A person--
adult or minor-- must actively go into cyber space looking for others by going to common
meeting places like gay chat rooms. Chat rooms are clearly marked as to what the sexual
interests are of the participants. You cannot accidently fall into a gay chat room. And if you did
stumble on a site you don't want to be in, anyone knows that one click of the mouse leads you
to the exit. In cases that we have seen were real minors were involved in gay chat rooms, the
minors were homosexuals or lesbians who were looking for someone that they could talk to and
who would understood their concerns and questions.

Our advice to parents is simply this: Know and understand your own children. Don't use the
Internet as a means for exorcizing your fears and victimizing others.

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