On Sunday, nine-year-old Jennette Tamayo was kidnapped from
her home in San Jose by an intruder who attacked her mother and
brother. While many parents fear the abduction of their children
by strangers, with proper vigilance such incidents can be
prevented.
Unfortunately, sexual predators are increasingly targeting
children. Internet sting operations and special task forces for
pedophiles have turned up an amazing group of offenders from rock
stars, movie stars, local pastors, and teachers who have been
charged with possession of child pornography. Two months ago, a
veteran New Jersey judge, Stephen Thompson, was arrested on child
pornography charges after police found what they describe as a
sickening child pornography videotape in his home. Rock star Pete
Townsend was recently cleared of charges of possession of child
pornography, but he still was registered as a sexual offender
because he had downloaded such pictures from a monitored Internet
site.
Once parents had to protect their children from known sexual
deviants. Now they have to worry about their computer literate
neighbors and upstanding community leaders.
In 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz was abducted on his way to the
school bus stop. My son Evan, who bore a slight resemblance to
Etan, was then three years old, and I was determined never to let
him out of my sight until he was no longer a target for a child
killer.Considering the fact that he and his brother once stood 10
feet away from such a person, I’ve never regretted my
vigilance.
In 1987, I had taken all six of my children to the grand opening
of a new indoor flea market called Bay Street Bazaar.The rear of
the market had several empty stalls and was rather deserted
except for some videogame machines and one or two merchants. One
of these merchants was an odd-looking man with a balding head and
an intimidating stare. My sons had run ahead of me to play the
machines while I walked behind with the toddlers, but when I saw
how isolated that area of the store was, I quickly shooed them
back to the front.
I am certainly not a psychic, but I heeded my maternal instincts,
and I was glad I did. That man, later identified as Andre Rand,
would soon be arrested for the murder of 12-year-old Jennifer
Schweiger. Rand, who is currently serving a 25-years-to-life
sentence for Jennifer’s murder, will also be standing trial
soon for the kidnapping of Holly Hughes, who disappeared 21 years
ago when she was seven. He is also suspected of killing at least
two other girls and two women. The president of Friends of
Jennifer for Missing Children, Donna Cutugno, has dubbed him the
Hannibal Lecter of Staten Island.
It’s never too early to teach your child how to be
streetsmart. Periodically, round up your children and their
neighborhood friends to play-act scenarios that they might
encounter while away from home. For example, ask each of them
what they would do if they were in a shopping mall and became
separated from their parents. Who should they ask for help? Teach
them to recognize security personnel and police officers and how
to ask for assistance from the right people. Have parties and
play videos for them about safety.
My toddler grandson was watching a popular television show called
"Blue’s Clues," and I was shocked to hear the host
saying something like, "Have you seen my dog, Blue?" He
then proceeds to ask for help in finding clues to his
whereabouts. This is downright dangerous because it encourages
children to believe that an adult would ask a child for
help.Always explain to your child that adults never ask children
for help in looking for lost pets, or for directions, etc.
Another trick to ensure safety is establish a secret code word
with your children that would be used if you need to send someone
to pick them up from day care or school.Test them by arranging to
have a friend pick them up. Reward them if they remember to ask
for the password.
These are just a few of the tactics I used to keep my children
safe — and they succeeded. None of these activities made
them over-anxious or neurotic because it was done in an
educational format.
But the most important thing parents can do is never let young
children out of their sight where men like Rand can snatch them.
Eternal vigilance may not be the easiest thing for busy parents
to do, but it is a small price to pay for their child’s
safety.