by District Attorney Scott Storey
comments open from March 17 until April 5

Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey is warning parents that there is a new way for predators to meet kids online.

What is ChatRoulette? If your teen has web cam and they visit the Web site, all they need do is say that they are 16-years-old (whether they are or not). Their Web cam is connected to a Web cam of a random stranger. Either person can decide to chat and watch the other, or hit the “next” button. The wheel spins again to reveal another stranger. As a parent, imagine your child sitting in the perceived safety of his/her bedroom while an infinite number of strangers are lined up in the hall to go into the room and meet with your child face-to-face. That’s ChatRoulette in a nutshell.

This new “web cam-based” social networking site can be far more dangerous and addictive than more popular sites like Facebook and MySpace.

The District Attorney’s Child Sex Offender Internet Investigations (CSOII) Unit takes a proactive approach to online predators. “Kids are our best source of intelligence,” says Investigator Harris. "We learned about this site from students at a presentation we did at Jefferson Academy."

Investigator Harris says, “Our biggest concern is that you never know who is capturing your video at the other end. When any information – video, text or photo – is sent into cyberspace, it is gone forever.”

Read the full release for more information on this technology. To learn more about Internet safety, see the District Attorney Web site.