BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE
Police are reminding parents to monitor their children's internet habits, following the arrest of a Hunter man for child grooming.
Detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad launched investigations late last month after reports surfaced a 15-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted by a man she met on social media, who claimed to be 17.
The man later claimed he was aged 27, and the pair met in the Newcastle area on Saturday 29 September where they allegedly had sex.
The 35-year-old was arrested at a unit in Valentine yesterday and charged with multiple offences - he's been refused bail to reappear in Toronto Local Court on October 30.
Police are urging parents to adhere to the following online safety tips to keep children safe:
• Be aware of how much time your child spends on the internet.
• Spend time talking to your child about the dangers associated with online conversations, particularly when communicating with someone that they have only ever met online.
• Spend time exploring the internet with your children and let them teach you about their favourite websites and applications.
• Keep computers or internet-enabled devices in a room the whole family can access, not in your child's bedroom; monitor internet access on those devices.
• Consider installing filtering and/or computer blocking software provided by your internet service provider.
• Ensure you are able to access your child's email and social media accounts and randomly check the contents.
• Check your phone bill for unusual outgoing calls and consider using 'caller ID' to identify incoming calls.
• Consult your telephone company for options designed to ensure privacy and security.
• Enquire with your child's school, public library, and places they frequent to find out what internet safety measures they have in place.
