Are you familiar with Dateline NBC’s To Catch A Predator where older men are caught in the act of coming to the location of a young girl whom they believe they’ve been communicating with? One Texas mom had a similar experience following a friend request from an alleged 20-year-old UT-Brownsville student to her 12-year-old on Facebook.
The mother, who chose to preserve her identity for the sake of her child, checked her daughter’s Facebook to discover a friend request from a picture-less man named, Freddy Love. Acting as her daughter, she asked him how he knew her, to which he replied that he didn’t, but wanted to. He then explained the sexual acts he was interested in doing with her even after mom (as her daughter) reemphasized her age.
“He could have withdrawn from the situation many times,” the mom said. “I gave him many chances to withdraw or to let him know that I was 12 and that my mom was asleep, and basically that he knew it was wrong.”
After setting up a meeting with him that night, she decided to contact Harlingen Police, let them know what was going on and where they would be meeting. Wearing a wig, hoodie and sneakers, the mother met 29-year-old, San Benito middle school teacher, Alfredo Hernandez, who was arrested shortly after. Hernandez resigned from his job earlier this week.
“I will do this again,” she says. “If it means getting a sexual predator or any creep off the street, why not?”
Read the entire article and see the video visit the CBS 6 website.
BMWK– How closely do you monitor your child’s social media use? Would you be willing to disguise yourself if you felt your child was in danger? What lessons should parents stress to children about the use of the Internet?
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