J. J. Cannon

Watch and see for yourself…

One of the most important things we can teach socially active kids is not to allow people they don’t know ‘IRL’ (in real life) to connect with them online.

Of course, they’ll be all like, “Why?” When they ask you this, please share with them the following example:

This is Hugo Rabson.  via the New York Post
A California dad discovered a 42-year-old man was sexting his teen daughter — so he set him up and made a citizen’s arrest to get the creep behind bars, reports said.

Earlier this year, Todd Thomas realized something was seriously wrong when he found his 14-year-old daughter asleep with a cellphone, which he’s never permitted her to own, ABC 30 reported.

It turns out Hugo Rabson, the alleged pedophile, gave her the phone in a hollowed-out book after they met on the social media website Whisper, the outlet reported. He used the phone to send her dirty text messages.

“I was shocked at what I found,” Thomas told ABC 30.

“The messages this man had sent to my daughter are worse than anything I’d say to a one-night stand.”

Thomas alleged the man was “clearly grooming” her, telling her to call him “Daddy Sugar” and sending messages asking for child pornography.

“Daddy needs to see his little girl… naked,” one of the texts said, according to an arrest warrant obtained by the news outlet.

He said he wanted photos of her and he promised to bring her to the movies when she wanted.

Like just about any other dad, Thomas’ first instinct was to beat the guy with a baseball bat.

“I wanted him gone, off the face of the Earth,” he said.

“I couldn’t believe he’d done this to my baby.”

But he realized violence wouldn’t get him anywhere, so he decided to set him up.

Thomas, pretending to be his daughter, sent a text to the man and asked to meet at the same location they’d met when Rabson gave Thomas’ daughter the cellphone, according to the report.

When Thomas arrived, he saw Rabson sitting alone at a picnic table, facing a dirt road.

He called the cops, who charged Rabson with a felony for arranging a meeting with a minor for lewd or lascivious behavior.

He’s free on a $30,000 bond and did not respond to requests for comment from the news outlet.

It is also important for parents to know which apps their kids are using and set boundaries for which apps you will allow them to use. In this case Whisper, an anonymous sharing app rated ages 18+ in the app store, is one to stay far, far away from.

Parents concerned about kids not being honest about the apps they are using, might consider Bark, which “…covers 24 social networks, apps, and text messaging platforms – 4x more than any other child monitoring app. You’ll get automatic alerts to signs of cyberbullying, depression, online predators, adult content, and more.”

I recommend parents make a pact, contract, or whatever type of agreement they feel necessary with kids before handing them a smartphone.

As always, I stress, be aware, not afraid- and never say, “My kid would never…” because any kid might.

Thanks for stopping by,

xo J.J.

❝The biggest challenge parents face in today’s digital world is the fact that all of this amazing technology takes us out of the equation.❞ – Jen “J.J.” Cannon