Posted: 5/31/05
ëMonsters arenít in your closet anymoreí
Police officer warns about internet predators
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
It didnít take long for the auditorium full of high energy Caledonia Middle School students to settle into a somber silence on May 24.
They heard a grim message from Eric Szatkowski, a special agent with the Wisconsin Department of Justice, about the dangers of meeting people on the internet.
He called the hour-long program ìThe Monsters Arenít In Your Closet Anymore.
Szatkowski showed some human monsters using a computer and large screen. He gave several real-life examples of people who claimed to be someone they werenít in order to lure and sexually assault both boys and girls.
Szatkowski poses as a young person in order to meet and catch internet child abusers. He said he has arrested more than 70 men. ìThe only reason they show up at that meeting is to assault, sexually assault,î he said.
He used his computer to show images of children who had been abused through internet contacts, or who had narrowly avoided it.
One girl who was going to meet an internet contact had a friend who told her parents. They alerted police, who arrested the man who had ropes and a hatchet in his car.
ìDoesnít matter if itís a small town or big city,î Szatkowski said.
He also showed pictures of men who claimed to be young people.
Boys are as vulnerable as girls, Szatkowski said. One man who Szatkowski caught told him he had a jet ski, and tickets to a Packers-Vikings game. When he came to pick up Szatkowski. he was arrested. They checked his home computer, as they always do, and found images of two boys that the man had met. The man had gone into their neighborhood and called them on his cell phone. Nothing had happened, Szatkowski was told, and he hoped that was true.
Predators come from all walks of life, and they donít have to be strangers, Szatkowski added. ìYou just donít know. you always have to be on guard,î he said. ìThese guys will offer you the world to get you to trust them.î
Many good tips
Szatkowski sprinkled his speech with a lot of practical advice. Here are some tips:
ï Donít create a computer profile. Predators can find victims from them. Szatkowski asked a student for his phone number and typed it into his computer. Within seconds it gave the boyís address, his parents names, and a map of where they lived.
ï Use appropriate screen names.
ï Stay out of chat rooms.
ï Donít visit inappropriate websites.
ï Donít look at people on web cameras or talk on web microphones.
ï Be careful who you are sending pictures to. Szatkowski said he always finds pictures of children on computers of people he arrests.
ï Donít let peer pressure influence you.
ï Never meet with someone from an internet connection. ìTheyíre going to be bigger, stronger, and they might have a weapon,î Szatkowski said.
Szatkowski also gave presentations to adults after school and in the evening. His programs to adults included handouts on filtering programs, and tips on how to monitor computer use. He also said it was good for adults to know who their children are emailing to.
About 300 people got to participate altogether, said organizer Karen Meier-Binde from Houston County Human Services. Her department sponsored the event, with help from grants from the Childrenís Justice Act and the Child Abuse Prevention program.
Szatkowskiís presentation had extra meaning in Caledonia. A former Caledonia music teacher, Craig Gieser, was charged in May with May 3 on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography. Local authorities were alerted after an undercover detective in New Hampshire, posing as a 14-year-old boy in an internet chat room, allegedly attracted the attention of Gieser. Gieser, 48, allegedly asked the ìboyî for pictures, and the detective sent pictures of himself as a 14-year- old. One was a school photo, and the others were of him in sports uniforms.
Gieser has not made a plea in the case. He is out on bail, and will appear in court on July 20. Gieser has resigned as a teacher for ISD #299.
Caledonia Argus
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