Parents are growing concerned about online predators after a San Antonio man was charged for allegedly sexually abusing two young girls and using Snapchat to lure them
Investigators said Diego Alejandro Cortez, 24, used Snapchat geo-tracking and a filter that made him look younger to lure a 10-year-old from her home. A second 13-year-old victim was also found.
Cortez is facing felony charges of continuous sex abuse of a child, child trafficking to engage in sexual conduct, 10 counts of possession of child pornography and a misdemeanor charge of harboring a runaway child.
Child psychiatrist, Dr. Liz Maria Gonzalez-Vega, said talking to your child or teenager about online predators can be easier the more often you do it.
“Each day, you have some sort of conversation with them and they feel that it’s not that they’re sitting me down to have this big conversation,” Gonzalez-Vega said.
The type of conversation also depends on your child’s age.
If they are younger, Gonzalez-Vega recommends restricting their internet access as much as possible.
She said it’s kind of important for parents to have vision and control of what’s happening on the other side.
“We need to not be trustworthy of everyone and that we don’t share our personal information,” Gonzalez-Vega said.
Restrictions should continue as your child turns into a teen — this includes keeping their phone out of their bedroom at night and having all their social media passwords.
Talking to your teenager is more about how they should behave online, Gonzalez-Vega said.
“We need to have that conversation of what is appropriate or not on sending on text. On sending on, on phone conversations, not even with people unknown to us, but even the people that we know,” she said.
Gonzalez-Vega said the more you talk with your child, the more they will trust you during difficult times.
“So we talk about school, we talk about friends. We talk about boyfriends and girlfriends, Right? We also talk about that, the difficult stuff, kind of safety, predators or values in our home,” Gonzalez-Vega said.
Also on KSAT.com:
San Antonio sex offender faces more charges after another victim, child pornography found, investigators say‘Evil is out there’: Hays County authorities urge parents to monitor social media use