Jacob Shellabarger

Summer is here. School is out, routines loosen up, and many children have more time with phones, tablets, gaming systems, and computers. Those devices can be useful, entertaining, and educational. But they also open a door. When our kids have access to the world, the world has access to our kids, too. 

That is why this month’s Opening Statement is about online safety: parents and caregivers must stay actively involved in their children’s digital lives. We would not drop a child off at a busy city park, walk away, and simply hope every stranger there has good intentions. The same principle applies online. Social media, gaming chats, messaging apps, livestreams, and group chats are places where kids gather—and places where unsafe adults can reach them. 

The numbers should get our attention. In 2025, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline received 21.3 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation, involving more than 61.8 million files. More than 53,000 reports were escalated to law enforcement as urgent or involving a child in imminent danger. NCMEC also reported major increases in online enticement, child sex trafficking reports, financial sextortion, and the misuse of artificial intelligence to create or manipulate harmful sexual images involving children. Those are national numbers, but the lesson is local: every child with an internet-connected device can be approached, manipulated, threatened, or exploited by someone who is not who they claim to be. 

Predators are not waiting for children to find them. They are looking for children where children already are—on social media, in games, in direct messages, and in apps that allow quick contact with strangers. Some pretend to be another child or teen. Some build trust over time. Some use threats, embarrassment, fake images, or demands for money to keep a child silent. The FBI continues to warn that sextortion can begin on any site, app, messaging platform, or game where people meet and communicate. 

This is not a reason to panic: it is a reason to parent. Children still need guidance, limits, supervision, and conversation. Parental controls can help, but they are not a substitute for parental involvement. The best tool is still a parent who knows what apps are on the device, who the child is talking to, and whether the child knows how to ask for help without fear of being blamed. 

Shame is one of the predator’s most powerful tools. Once a child has sent an image, shared personal information, or joined a private conversation, the offender may use embarrassment to keep the child quiet. In financial sextortion cases, the offender may demand money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or more images. Paying rarely solves the problem. The safest response is to stop communicating, preserve the evidence, and report it. 

A few practical steps can make a big difference, especially during the summer months when children may have more unsupervised time online: 

- Do not allow children to accept friend requests, private messages, game invites, or chats from strangers. 

- Keep devices out of bedrooms overnight and set clear screen-time expectations. 

- Review privacy settings, location sharing, app permissions, and contact lists regularly. 

- Explore new apps or games before allowing your child to use them. 

- Teach children to stop responding and tell a trusted adult if someone asks for a photo, secrecy, money, gift cards, or threatens to embarrass them. 

One of the most important conversations a parent can have is simple: “If anything online ever scares you, embarrasses you, or makes you feel trapped, come to me first. I will help you.” Children being manipulated often stay silent because they fear losing their phone, getting in trouble, or disappointing their parents. Predators count on that fear. Parents can break it by making clear that safety comes first. 

Parents do not have to be technology experts to be effective. Start with the basics: know the passwords, apps, usernames, privacy settings, location settings, and who can contact your child. If your child uses a gaming system, learn how the chat features work. If your child uses social media, review the privacy settings together. If a new app appears on the phone, ask about it before assuming it is harmless. 

The Audrain County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office takes these cases seriously. We work with local law enforcement agencies, the Mid Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force headquartered in Boone County, Children’s Division, the State Technical Assistance Team at the Department of Health and Senior Services, our region’s United States Attorney’s Office and U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to protect Audrain County children and families from online predators. Law enforcement investigates reports, preserves digital evidence, executes search warrants when appropriate, and works with specialized task forces when a case crosses county, state, or national lines. Our office reviews those investigations, files charges when supported by the evidence and the law, appears in court, works with victims and families, and seeks accountability through prosecution. 

Holding predators responsible is part of protecting children. But prosecution usually happens after a child has already been harmed. That is why prevention and early reporting are so important. If a child tells you something happened online, remain calm. Do not delete messages, images, accounts, or apps before law enforcement documents appropriately. Save usernames, phone numbers, screenshots, links, and payment demands. If there is immediate danger, call 911. If the situation involves online exploitation, threats, or sexual images of a child, contact local law enforcement and report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 

The most effective way to protect children online is active, informed, consistent parenting. Talk with your kids often about what they see, hear, read, play, post, and share. Ask questions. Check devices. Set limits. Be firm when needed. Most importantly, make sure your child knows that if someone online threatens, pressures, tricks, or embarrasses them, they should come to you immediately. They are not the criminal. They are a child who needs help. The internet is not going away, risks are real, however you have the ability to guide, protect, and intervene to protect kids online. This summer, let’s give our kids freedom to grow and enjoy their break, but let’s not confuse freedom with being left alone online. For more information or to make a report, visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at www.missingkids.org, the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force at www.moicac.org, or the FBI at tips.fbi.gov.