Const. Josh MacNaughton with the ICE (Internet Child Exploitation) unit of the Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) gave a public information presentation at Ecole Palliser Heights School recently to better inform parents and teachers about the safety of children while they’re online.
In the Jan. 18 presentation, roughly 35 guests were given up-to-date statistics regarding online child exploitation, and Const. Jayme Hoffman from the MJPS’s Community and Strategic Services Unit was on hand to field questions.
MacNaughton is a member of the MJPS’s Criminal Investigation Section (CIS), which covers general investigations and is also a trained member of the ICE unit.
“Our biggest mandate (at ICE) is to try and identify and locate victims of… CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material)… and try and catch the people who are looking at this stuff,” he explained. CSAM is equivalent to the Criminal Code’s definition of child pornography and related material.
Statistics reveal that one in five children between the ages of 10 and 17 have been or will be approached online at some point by a predator. MacNaughton pointed out that this statistic only includes incidents that have been reported.
“I would probably argue that that number is way higher. If you even think about your own social media and how many times a random person has been added, and it’s some kind of sexual content, I think we can all say that’s happened at least once,” he said.
The US-based website, MissingKids.org run by NCMEC (the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children), revealed that 32 million reports of CSAM were reported in 2023 alone.
MacNaughton pointed out that around 40,000 internet-based chat sites exist with the purpose of defending the sexual exploitation of children. In Moose Jaw, around 16 – 18 cases are typically investigated each year.
“The problem is we don’t think that’s okay.”
During the presentation, MacNaughton advised parents on how to better monitor their children’s online activities and what steps they can take if they discover or suspect any concerns.
“The first thing is to have open conversations with your kids. Make this an open talking point in your home… The second thing I would say is for parents to know who their child is talking to online. Go through their friends list and make sure they actually know these people.”
These contacts should be someone they personally know and can call to confirm an identity.
“Understand that this can happen to anyone. If it does happen, just try and build that bridge so your kid is willing and able to come forward to you. If that ever does happen, remember that they’re a victim,” he explained. “Try to stay calm and understand that they’ve been taken advantage of. Try to support them in that.”
An estimated 89 per cent of sexual advances directed at children occur in internet chatrooms or by way of instant messaging. Predators often present themselves as being in the same age group as their victim, and their first move is to establish a bond of trust.
Once established, they will escalate their efforts and in a quarter of all reported incidents, the predator will ask the child for sexually explicit photos.
The first step is to confirm that your child has been approached. All messages and images should be kept as evidence and MacNaughton advised parents to never delete any of this information. Doing so will hinder an investigation, and ICE only has enough resources to currently employ seven officers in Saskatchewan.
Once confirmed, parents should contact the MJPS to report what happened. There’s also a Crime Stoppers analog specific to child sexual abuse at CyberTip.ca.
“The biggest message is communication. Be open with your kids, and if you notice a difference in them, just ask and try to be involved... It might be uncomfortable for them, but it will be better in the long run.”
Further public presentations are anticipated by no dates have been established yet.
For more information about your child’s safety online, MacNaughton recommended the Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s website, ProtectChildren.ca, as a good starting point.
In response to some providers blocking access to Canadian news on their platforms, our website, MooseJawToday.com will continue to be your source for hyper-local Moose Jaw news. Bookmark MooseJawToday.com and sign up for our free online newsletter to read the latest local developments.
