Predators attack via social media:

There’s your no shit Sherlock headline of the year. This article is not about how sexual predators in general use social media to find their victims. I would think that readers of my site are already well aware of that danger. The article is really about one alleged predator in particular.

Early this past week police in Hamden, Connecticut arrested 21-year-old Edwin Arpi. Arpi is accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl that he met online. The article did not state what website was used but Connecticut is no stranger to online predators going back to the heyday of MySpace. The victim says that Arpi assaulted her, choked her and threatened to kill her all in his car.

If your child is online and using social media you have to educate yourself to be smarter than them. Know what sites they’re using. Ask about their online friends. Get their passwords. Check their internet history. Set ground rules and if they’re not followed don’t be afraid to cut them off. Your kids’ safety is more important than their social status among their friends. In other words be their parent and not their buddy.