By Megan Ma

Frank Swaringen of the San Jose Police Department, Los Altos School Resource Officer Susan Anderson and former Los Altos Police Chief Lucy Carlton discuss the dangers of Internet predators.

School Resource Officer Susan Anderson of the Los Altos Police Department teamed up with veteran Detective Frank Swaringen of the San Jose Police Department’s Sexual Assault unit to deliver a potent and cautionary message at the Kiwanis Club meeting May 23.

“The Internet has become a child molester’s fantasy,” said Swaringen, who has interviewed hundreds of convicted sex molesters and pedophiles. “We have to educate our children on how to protect themselves, because we can’t protect them.”

An accepted statistic in Internet safety, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, states that one in five children and teens who use the Internet are solicited by a predator.

Swaringen said his job entails some complicated detective work - he often masquerades as a young girl online and arranges sting operations with the help of colleagues to capture molesters and pedophiles.

In an effort to combat the predatory behavior he witnesses online, Swaringen has also written the script for an informational film, “Where Sheep Gather,” funded by Child Quest International, a non-profit agency dedicated to the recovery of missing persons.

The film illustrated a common scenario: The offender introduces himself or herself to a vulnerable, often insecure teen, expertly hooking them with praise and charming them with pop-culture references. This often lengthy process, referred to as “grooming,” can last for months before the predator even makes an inappropriate advance, according to Swaringen.

“These people are often psychological geniuses,” he said. “They are very patient, but

sooner or later they’ll incorporate a sex topic into the conversation.” By then, it’s often too late.

“These kids lack the wisdom of years to see danger when it presents itself. These monsters capitalize and take advantage of their naivete and vulnerability,” said Anderson, who started the Internet Predator Awareness program at the Los Altos Police Department to warn parents and children about inherent Internet dangers.

When she’s not giving lectures at local elementary and high schools, Anderson conducts her own sting operations. Introducing herself as a 12-year-old girl in an online chatroom, she said the number of inappropriate solicitations she receives boggles her mind.

More surprising is that there is not one typical profile that best represents a molester. Anderson has arrested an executive from PG&E and a Stanford doctor in Los Altos. “Most predators are very social and very smart,” she said.

As advice to parents, Anderson supplemented frightening statistics with practical ways to deflect potential online dangers. Perhaps less technologically savvy than their children, parents are often at a disadvantage when it comes to monitoring Internet activity.

“Parents have to become more vigilant,” Anderson said. Children should not be allowed to have Internet access in their bedrooms, she advised.

For more information or to report a predator crime, call the Los Altos Police Department Child Exploitation Detail at 947-2770 or visit www.cybertipline.com.