Bullying has long been a problem in our schools, our extracurricular programs and even our churches. Despite what some parents and teachers may claim, this is certainly not a new problem. However, advancements in technology have given rise to more sophisticated bullying.

Educators, parents and government officials are working hard to address the bullying issue, but do they really understand the extent to which cyberbullying plaques today’s students? A quick look at current anti-bullying legislation suggests that the answer is no. Research suggests that one in three kids has been threatened online at some point. Many teens and young adults have been targets of identity theft, robbed of a decent credit history before they even have the chance to get their first loans or credit cards.

Cyberbullying Legislation

Despite the concerns outlined above, adults continue to underestimate the impact cyberbullying has on both its victims and its perpetrators. There has been some effort to include this type of abuse in anti-bullying legislation, however.

Ahead of the curve on the issue of cyberbullying, North Carolina passed a law criminalizing the activity back in 2009. The law is unique in that it targets not just student-based cyberbullying, but also behaviors such as adults disguising their identities and preying on children through chat rooms. Violations of this law are classified as misdemeanors, but most convicted youths are able to expunge their records upon successful completion of parole.

New Jersey has also made efforts to curb bullying that occurs over the internet. The state encourages students to speak out, offering a crimespotters service through which bullied students can report instances of cyberbullying to the police. Known as the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, this legislation is among the toughest in the nation.

Protecting Children From Cyberbullies

While current efforts in states such as New Jersey and North Carolina are promising, many locales are not covered by sufficient anti-bullying legislation. As such, it is important for parents to take the steps necessary to ensure that their children are not victim of constant harassment. One easy way to keep children safe from internet hazards is to invest in Lifelock identity protection. Designed to prevent identity theft, Lifelock has been great for teens possessing mobile devices.

Also important is communicating with children and ensuring that, no matter what is going on in their lives, they have someone willing to listen. The United States government’s initiative against bullying suggests that parents take at least fifteen minutes each day to talk one-on-one with their children. This daily chat session does not have to always be about serious issues such as bullying; however, by keeping the communication lines open, parents increase the chances of their children approaching when there is a problem. Kids should also know exactly what does and does not constitute as bullying so that they can avoid engaging in the behavior themselves. With a combination of appropriate education, communication and legislation, this problem can be wiped out once and for all.

Author: Patricia Tucker

Salem, Oregon – Sarah Beth Hopkins, a 35-year-old Oregon woman, was jailed Sunday after she allegedly had a seven-month long sexual relationship with her friend’s 11-year-old son. According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, an investigation was launched after the boy’s mother learned at a church revival that her son had been sexually involved with Hopkins. Hopkins is the mother’s neighbor and close friend, according to the criminal complaint. READ MORE HERE

London (CNN) — Reports that a Scottish teenager took his own life after becoming the victim of an alleged Internet blackmail scam have heightened concerns in Britain over online abuse. Daniel Perry, from Dunfermline, was reportedly the victim of blackmailers who recorded his interactions via Skype with a person he believed was an American girl his own age. They then threatened to show his family the footage unless he paid up, UK media reports say. Instead, the 17-year-old jumped from a bridge last month. READ MORE HERE

Daniel Perry suicide: Family of blackmailed teenager call on David Cameron to help hunt down “scum”

A cop decided he had better things to do at work.  Herbert Eugene Miller, 44, was an auxiliary officer with the Greeneville Police Department until it was discovered that he was using his patrol car computer to search for child pornography.  READ MORE HERE

TEMPE, AZ — Tempe police have confirmed the skeletal remains found in Apache Junction are those of missing 19-year-old Adrienne Salinas. Tempe police Sgt. Mike Pooley said confirmation was made, through DNA testing, by the Arizona Department of Public Safety.  “At this point in the investigation, we do not conclusively know Adrienne’s cause or manner of death. We will continue to work with the Medical Examiner’s office and other law enforcement partners, but we cannot rule anything out and we have not as of yet classified this case as a homicide,” Pooley said in a statement Friday afternoon. READ MORE HERE

CBS 5 – KPHO

Body found in Apache Junction is that of Adrienne Salinas

Boyfriend of missing Adrienne Salinas speaks out

Their lives are lost to nannies, which are charged with caring for them; to family members who are supposed to watch out for them; and, by parents whom they thought loved them.  Who are these victims of such brutality?  That’s right, the children.  Whether it’s in Philadelphia, Washington, Boston, New York, or around the world; just pick up any newspaper, on any given day, and you’ll read at least one story of child-murder that will break your heart. It’s devastating when innocence is lost. It seems as if the killing of innocent children has reached epidemic proportions, with death tolls rising regularly. But what’s more alarming, is that those who commit these heinous crimes against our loved ones have little or no remorse. Strangers and family members, with the conscience of a sociopath, snatch their innocent lives away, with the ease of blowing out a candle.  And it’s frightening! READ MORE HERE

Kid Killers: Child Murderers are Rare, But on the Rise

CHILD MURDERS ON THE RISE IN THE U.S.A.

Federal Health Officials Warn The Number Of Kids Getting Murdered

Hong Kong: Parent-Child Suicides Are Rising

Child among dead in Pitman murder-suicide

PITMAN, N.J. — The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office and the Pitman Police Department are investigating what appears to be a murder-suicide. Police say the deceased man, woman and child have been identified as 49-year-old Francis Adolf, his wife 44-year-old Bonnie Adolf and their child 6-year-old Francis Adolf Jr. Pitman Police Department officers found the bodies shortly after 10:00 a.m. Tuesday in the home on Kenton Avenue. READ MORE HERE

Montgomery teacher Lawrence Joynes charged with sexual abuse of 15 students

A Montgomery County music teacher has been charged with sexually abusing 14 of his elementary school students during the past eight years and with repeatedly having sex with a seventh-grader in the 1990s, according to court documents released Tuesday. Lawrence W. Joynes, 54, had been a teacher in Montgomery County schools since 1985, and he allegedly abused children in his care as early as 1991 and then from 2005 until shortly before he was arrested in February on a pornography charge, according to court documents. Police wrote in court filings that a principal and later a teacher had been made aware of Joynes’s inappropriate actions with girls in his classroom at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring and that as a result, his access to students was restricted. READ MORE HERE

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HUNTSVILLE, AL – Officials are now confirming that the man who was killed in an officer-involved shooting in Huntsville last Friday was a fugitive from South Carolina already convicted of child sex crimes. Madison County Coroner Craig Whisenant identified the man who was shot as 57-year-old Brent Dotson. Dotson was convicted last year of raping a 6-year-old girl. Records show Dotson never showed up for his trial in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last December, and had not been seen since he was convicted ‘in absentia’. READ MORE HERE

Authorities said Jay Thomas Morgan, who was arrested last year as part of a two-county child pornography investigation, committed suicide in jail Monday morning. In a statement, Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford said Morgan, 50, was found dead in his cell at the county’s Law Enforcement Center. Investigators acting on a tip allegedly found child pornography at Rosalyn Burdett’s home in rural Johnson County on July 30, 2012. Burdett then implicated Morgan. READ MORE HERE

In the private prison industry, longer sentences earn more money from the state. Since 2003, Ciavarella received millions of dollars in bribes for condemning minors to maximum prison sentences. In one case, Ciavarella sentenced a 10-year-old to two years in a detention facility for accidentally bottoming out his mother’s car. READ MORE HERE

Smartphone pictures pose privacy risks   

WARNING!!!! If you take photos with your cell phone and use social media and/or the internet

Pictures you’ve e-mailed or uploaded from your smartphone could leak information that can threaten your safety or that of your children. If you, your kids or grand kids take pics from your phone—WATCH THIS! This is truly alarming – please take the time to watch. At the end they’ll tell you how to set your phone so you don’t run this risk! Please watch this and then be sure to share with all your family and friends. It’s REALLY important info, about what your posting things on your cell phones can do TO YOU!!!

Visit http://tinyurl.com/smartphonerisks to read much more on this investigation.

How-to-stop-Facebook-from-sharing-your-location

How to Disable Facebook Places Location Tracking

Social media children and safety

Social networking | Online and mobile safety | Explore | ChildLine

Social Networking Safety — National Crime Prevention Council

Erica Lynn Parsons, 15, last seen November 19, 2011, leaving adoptive parents’ home in Salisbury, North Carolina

The FBI and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation have joined the search for a 15-year-old girl who was last seen two years ago, but was not reported missing until late last month. Police became aware of Erica Lynn Parsons’ disappearance only July 30 when her 19-year-old brother contacted them and said that she was last seen leaving the Salisbury home of her parents in November 2011. An attorney hired by Erica’s adoptive parents, Casey and Sandy Parsons, claimed that his clients were under the impression that the 15-year-old went to live with her biological grandmother and wanted to be left alone, the Charlotte Observer reported. READ MORE HERE

Aziza Kibibi was only eight-years-old when her father started raping her. By 10, Aswad Ayinde’s lessons teaching his daughter ‘how to be a woman’ turned violent and his regular raping produced five children out of incest. Those days are now long behind Kibibi, who saw her abusive father sentenced to 50 years in prison on July 26.  Now 35, married and running a promising baking business, Kibibi recently reflected on her ‘nightmare’ childhood on NJ.com.  READ MORE HERE