Parents Urged to Warn Their Kids About Online Predators

The St. Charles County Police Cyber Crime Unit is warning parents to talk with their children about the dangers of online predators this new school year.

"St. Charles County is not immune to any of this," says Lt. Adam Caupp, head of the unit. "We are right in the middle of it all. All of the national trends affect St. Charles County, too."

Caupp says parents should talk with their kids about the things done by online predators:

• Sextortion-Sex offenders posing as someone trustworthy use online platforms to convince children to send a nude photo, then threaten to show others the photo unless they get more pictures or money. This type of extortion has led to dozens of youth suicides across the country.
• Deepfake pictures-An innocent photo of someone can be altered using artificial intelligence to create pornographic material. The resulting images can then be shared with others to the embarrassment of the innocent victim or used for sextortion.
• Online grooming-A sex offender using a false persona gains the trust of a young person with the intent of eventually meeting for sex. This usually happens in chatrooms or direct messages. If an adult is making unsolicited contact with a juvenile, that juvenile should immediately alert their parents.

"Parents need to explain to their kids that there's bad people out there who want to trick you into providing personal details and sending naked photos," Caupp says. "Tell them don't ever send intimate images to anyone, not even your closest friend, because when you send it to your closest friend, or your boyfriend, or your girlfriend, eventually you guys break up or they share it with their friend or girlfriend because they think it's cool that they got you to do that. Now the image is out on the internet and it's very difficult to remove it."

In addition to leading the County Cyber Crime Unit, Caupp is the state commander of the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which receives tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. His team of detectives reviews cyber tips and forwards them to law enforcement across the state.

In St. Charles County last year, the Cyber Crime Unit received 682 tips on possible local cases. Of those, the unit investigated 270, resulting in 36 arrests.

Meanwhile, the unit received some 16,000 cyber tips for the statewide Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Of those, the unit forwarded more than 3,300 actionable tips to law enforcement around the state to investigate, leading to the arrest of 416 suspects.

St. Charles County also conducted 45 proactive investigations this year, leading to the arrest of 10 suspects accused of trying to meet up with children for sex.

Among the local arrests, a St. Charles City school teacher was arrested in mid-Augst on suspicion of possessing images of child sexual abuse. Louis Saubers was arrested by St. Charles County Police and was being held on $185,000 cash-only bond. The school district issued a statement saying there was no indication any students were involved, but asked anyone with information to report it.

Caupp wants the public to know that the St. Charles County Police Department is committed to serving the community and being a trusted resource for public safety.

"As the host agency for the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, we are dedicated to protecting children from online threats," Caupp says. "We offer outreach, education, and support to anyone seeking information or guidance related to the prevention, or response to, online enticement and exploitation of children.

"If you have any questions, need assistance, or would like to schedule an outreach event, please don't hesitate to reach out. Together, we can keep our children safe online and prevent them from becoming a victim."