Education Key To Outwitting Online Predators

Monday, July 23rd 2007, 7:38 am

By: News On 6

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- Miss America Lauren Nelson of Oklahoma and other experts tell the nation's governors that vigilant parents and well-educated children remain the first line of defense against online predators. Nelson made her comments Sunday during the annual meeting of the National Governors Association, held in Michigan.

New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte says law enforcement agencies are becoming more technologically proficient in the fight against cyberspace child stalkers.

But she says they alone can't solve a problem so widespread that 1 in 5 kids who use the Internet are believed to have been approached by a predator.

The 20-year-old Nelson made online safety her platform issue for the Miss America contest because she and friends received inappropriate photographs at age 13 from a man they met online.

Posing as a teenager, Nelson took part in an April sting operation that led to charges against 11 men. She announced last month she would tour the nation with a security software company to promote the issue.

Related story:

6/18/2007 - Miss America Promotes Internet Safety