Kelsey Volkmann, The Examiner
2006-11-15 10:00:00.0
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Eldersburg, Md. -

Sexual predators can track down victims by piecing together details posted on online profiles, an FBI agent warned middle schoolers Tuesday.

“If you post a picture of yourself, [pedophiles] can pick you out of a crowd,” Special Agent Michael Miller told seventh- and eighth-graders at Oklahoma Road Middle School in Eldersburg. “If you post what sports teams you play on, they can find you.”

FBI agents have been visiting Maryland schools for five years, but this year was the first time investigators tailored their Internet safety presentations around the dangers of social networking sites, such as MySpace, Xanga and LiveJournal.

About one in five children have received online sexual solicitations, according to the federal Department of Justice.

“When you go home tonight and sign on, think about this presentation,” Vice Principal Christian Roemer told students. “Think about the information you have posted about yourself.”

Some teens already take precautions. Eighth-grader Samantha Trail said she turned on the private function on her MySpace profile, allowing only friends who have a password to connect.

“I don’t want just anybody to look at mine,” she said.

Teens trading child porn

When the FBI ambush a house of a suspected child pornography trader, teenagers are increasingly inside, an FBI agent said.

In the last year and a half, investigators have uncovered more cases in which youths are sharing child porn on peer-to-peer networks such as LimeWire, Special Agent Michael Miller said.

“Teens are taking pictures of themselves, sending it to their boyfriend and girlfriend, but after the breakup, they are still on the Internet,” he said. “The pictures are almost always there forever.”

The FBI has investigated five cases of 13- or 14-year-olds trading explicit pictures of minors in this area alone, he said.

– Kelsey Volkmann

kvolkmann@baltimoreexaminer.com