Lauderdale County Deputies stress safety on the internet

LAUDERDALE CO., Ala. (WAFF) – Lauderdale County deputies are stressing the point of internet safety after arresting a North Carolina man accused of sending graphic photos to a 15-year-old.

A “cybertip” from the National Center of Missing and exploited Children led them to Dylan Smith.

Internet providers, Snapchat and other apps let the organization know when certain situations occur on their platforms.

Those tips are then sent to the appropriate authorities. Sergeant Josh Casson says the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s office normally gets between twelve and eighteen cybertips a year.

So far, they have received six to eight and this case was one of them. Casson said safety tips look a little different now than they did before the Internet.

“That shift from “hey it’s the creepy guy at the bus stop” to “it’s the guy that’s in his mom’s basement who has nothing better to do than sit there and get your stuff.”

Lauderdale County Sergeant Josh Casson said the internet has made it easier for predators to form a connection with their victims through apps and social media platforms.

“When we go talk to the schools, we always ask the kids you know who has snap who has whatever, pick your favorite app,” Casson explained. “Then it goes into who has the most followers or the most friends or whatever. The biggest thing we ask them is hey do you know who all these, we’ll say, 300 people are. Of course, nobody does because it’s a random name that pops up.”

Dylan Smith is charged with 11 counts of transmitting obscene material to a child and one count of electronic solicitation of a child. He was arrested by authorities in Wilson County, North Carolina, and extradited to Lauderdale County.

Casson said Smith met his victim on an app called BeFriend and then exchanged numbers. Eventually, Smith did ask to meet up for sex even though he knew the victim was 15-years-old.

Casson said parents need to start by having a serious conversation with their children.

“You know, just be as open as you can, but it starts with the parents to open that dialogue. And hey we need to talk about these threats to you basically and I want you to know if you’ve made a mistake you can come to me. Or if you think you’ve made a mistake you can come talk to me and we won’t be mad at you, we just need to get it fixed if we can.”

Casson said the best way to monitor their activity is to check what apps they are downloading or checking their phones every so often.

“So the best way is just preventative maintenance,” Casson said. “Just keep checking their stuff and know what they’re downloading. You can set their phones up so they have to ask to download apps so in theory, you always know what’s on their phone.”

Casson added that some tips for the children are do not friend people on social media that you do not know, do not be afraid to go to your parents with any issues you might have and that there are plenty of resources on the website for the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children.

Click Here to Subscribe on YouTube: Watch the latest WAFF 48 news, sports & weather videos on our YouTube channel!

Copyright 2024 WAFF. All rights reserved.