The Internet is the perfect way to gain information and communicate with others.
But it can also be a very dangerous place.
Despite the endless precautions on how to safely use the Internet, there are still instances where young people get lured under the pretense of a healthy new relationship.
Most often than not, teenagers are the usual victims.
That’s why parents take extra caution in educating their children when it comes to meeting new people online.
One parent was lucky enough to check on his daughter before she became a victim.
Scott Jenkins is a loving father of two adorable daughters.
He loves his daughters and he would give anything for them. His number one priority was to protect them.
His daughter, Haylee, was 15 years old.
Like any other teenager of her age, she was curious about different people and she’s at the stage where she’s learning more about herself.
It’s normal for teenagers to be private about their lives.
They tend to focus more on their peer groups and learn about their identity.
However, how do you know when it’s time to be concerned about your child?
This is the situation Scott landed himself in.
Scott’s parental instincts were telling him that it was something he should be concerned about.
As much as he values his daughter’s privacy, he had to make routine checks on her online activities because he was starting to get concerned.
It’s okay for teenagers to be secretive and wait for them to open up to you, but his instincts were telling him that something was seriously wrong.
At first, it was pretty normal.
Every time he would check Hayley’s tablet there wasn’t any suspicious activity.
He did notice time gaps in messages as if some were deleted though.
It wasn’t until 2 weeks later that he saw something that made him freeze.
He had been checking her tablet, not expecting anything different from the norm – but what he found chilled him to the bone.
It was a photo of her daughter that was sent to a teenage boy named Bruce.
As a father, he wanted to make sure that Bruce was a good and responsible teenage boy.
Using the Internet, he was able to confirm that Bruce was indeed a 15-year-old like his daughter.
However, what was alarming was that his online circle of friends was not composed of teenagers but of actual grown men.
After researching these men, Scott decided to give the information to the police.
He met with the detective of the Cyber Task Force of Portage Police Department and gave them access to their devices.
After 7 months, they got a shocking call.
“Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, can you and your family please come to the police station as soon as possible?” the detective asked.
They went to the Portage Police Station and discovered that his actions may have saved his daughter’s life.
Apparently, these grown men were trafficking young girls like Hayley.
They used Bruce as a scout to lure the girls in. It was a scary piece of information – especially considering that Hayley had been considering meeting Bruce.
Thankfully, Scott’s parental instincts kicked in just in time and he was able to save his daughter from what could have been a very tragic outcome.
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