Internet Investigations
Cheezo's email | About Internet Investigations Unit | Safety Tips
Sextortion | Teaming with Brityn Mykhail | Additional Resources
Internet Crimes Against Children
The 1st Judicial District Attorney's Office is committed to keeping children safe online. As technology evolves, we must try to stay ahead of the learning curve. In the past we focused on personal computer safety, but today cell phone technology allows kids to take online communication with them wherever they go.
In our attempt to keep children safe online, we balance our resources in two areas. We go online portraying ourselves as children, which has resulted in hundreds of arrests. More important though are our education and prevention programs which we provide to children and adults. We conduct over 140 Internet and cell phone safety presentations each year.
To schedule a safety presentation you can call 303-271-6766.
You can now contact Cheezo or the CSOII Unit via email:
You can contact Cheezo or the Child Sex Offender Internet Investigations Unit for any of the following:
• Suspected Internet predators situations involving children only
• Child pornography
• Requesting an Internet safety presentation
• Questions from children on Internet and cell phone safety issues
• Valuable tips and online sites for children
You can send your email to Cheezo@jeffco.us
Please leave your name, the law enforcement jurisdiction you reside in and a phone number where you can be reached.
SEXTORTION: The Latest in Internet and Cell Phone Danger for Teens
Many teenagers take sexually explicit or even nude pictures of themselves and send them to others either online or through text messaging. This is called “Sexting”. Sexting occurs more frequently than parents can imagine. These photos become “Sextortion” when they are used as a tool of exploitation or extortion.
Recently a Colorado teenage girl made the mistake of sending her naked picture to a 20-year-old man in California. This teenage girl thought this young man liked her and she had feelings for him. She accepted him as a friend on Facebook site. After receiving the teenage girl’s naked picture, the man threatened her, telling her that if she didn’t send him $1500.00 dollars or send him more naked pictures of herself, he would send her naked picture to all her friends on Facebook.
The teenage girl was faced with the possibility of her naked picture being distributed to all her friends and felt pressured to comply. The teenager finally told her mother, who then alerted law enforcement. This 20-year-old man was identified and prosecuted. He was sentenced to prison.
These “Sextortion” cases are very concerning to law enforcement as frightened victims might give in to demands such as posing for explicit photos, having sex with the perpetrator or sending them money.
District Attorney Investigator Mike Harris asks parents and possible victims of “Sextortion” to report incidents to law enforcement. These threats and demands need to be investigated and the suspects stopped.
About the Child Sex Offender Internet Investigations Unit:
District Attorney Investigator Mike Harris specializes in crimes against children, including crimes that begin on the Internet. Harris has been in law enforcement for 26 years and heads the District Attorney's Office's Child Sex Offender Internet Investigations (CSOII) Unit, working to stop Internet sex offenders from victimizing unsuspecting and vulnerable children they meet in Internet chat rooms. (read more)
Who is Policing the Internet?
On an average day, which often runs well into
the evening, cyber cop Mike Harris splits his time between online undercover Internet investigations and teaching Internet safety to parents and kids. Harris, a Jefferson County District Attorney Investigator, spends hours at a time in Internet chat rooms where kids socialize. He becomes one of them. But he’s not “lol” (laughing out loud) with his “bff” (best friend forever) about her “bf” (boyfriend). Harris is lying in wait for online predators who lure kids for sexual purposes. And often, he doesn’t have to wait very long. (read more)
For the Spanish-speaking Community:
The District Atttorney's Office is committed to protecting all children who access the Internet, whether on a computer or through their cellphone. We now provide some of our literature in Spanish and can provide a Spanish-speaking interpreter at Internet safety presentations for kids and parents. For more information, contact Leticia Gutierrez at 303-271-6770.
Para la comunidad Hispano hablante:
La Oficina Fiscal del Distrito está comprometida a proteger a todos los niños que tienen acceso a la Internet, ya sea a través de computadora o de su teléfono celular móvil. Ahora proporcionamos algo de nuestra literatura en Español y podemos proporcionar a un intérprete en las presentaciones de Seguridad de la Internet para los niños y los padres. Para más información, contacte a Leticia Gutierrez al 303-271-6770.
Consejos de Seguridad:
Consejos de Seguridad para la Internet y Teléfonos Celulares haz clic aquí.
Consejos para Myspace y otros sitios similares haz clic aquí.
Did you know?
According to the Children's Internet Protection Act (C.R.S. 22-87-102 (2)) every public school is required to provide Internet safety programs or practices that will protect children from online access to harmful material. The goal is to protect children without compromising either the use of the Internet as an education resource or responsible use of Internet in schools.
You as a parent can tell if your school is in compliance by checking the School Accountability Report (SAR), also known as the school’s report card, which comes out each year in the fall.
Who is Cheezo? Cheezo is the cool yellow cat mascot for the District Attorney's CSOII Unit. Investigator Harris uses Cheezo in presentations to elementary schools to help teach younger kids Internet safety messages. The kids draw pictures of Cheezo with safety messages they learned from the presentation.
The Strangers We Meet - Individuals seeking to victimize children over the Internet rely on the anonymity offered by cyberspace. This "anonymity" has also proven to be a valuable tool in catching offenders. By posing as male and female adolescents, investigators have entered Internet chat rooms where they have been contacted by adults actively seeking sexual contact with minors. This is a list of those arrested by Harris and convicted.
2008 Arrests
2008 Arrests Continued
2007 Arrests
2007 Arrests Continued
2006 Arrests
2005 Arrests
Safety Tips:
Teenagers today are receiving more "random" text messages via their cell phones from individuals they do no know. Mike's rules for online safety apply to cell phones as well. If you don't know someone in person yoo shouldn't respond or provide personal information. Mike has found that many teenagers actually sleep with their cell phone. Rules should be set where cell phones are turned over to parents at a certain time of night until the next morning.
Cell Phone Safety Tips - Tips on how to manage your child's cell phone use.
Internet/Cell Phone Safety Tips for Parents - There are many things parents can do to help keep their kids safe on the computer and on cell phones. One very simple thing is keeping an open dialogue with your child about who they talk to and which sites they go into.
Myspace.com Warning - A warning for parents and kids.
Internet Shorthand -
YAA? Nooooooooooooo! Interacting with kids on the Internet would be much easier if you understood some of the language. A pdf guide to common acronyms.
Emoticons - A small piece of specialized text-based art used in email, online chat and text messaging to indicate emotions and attitudes that would be conveyed by body language in face-to-face communications.
Internet Safety Video Echo Star financed the development and production of this Internet Safety video used for educating younger children.
Exciting News for CSOII:
Brityn Mykhail has recently teamed up with the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office and Investigator Mike Harris in spreading the word about Online Safety! Brityn recently wrote two songs for Mr. Harris, both of which will be used at presentations for the CSOII (Child Sex Offender Internet Investigations) programs.
To listen to “Hurting Me,” please click below.
"Hurting Me" By Brityn Mykhail
To listen to “Be Careful Online,” the song written for CSOII’s mascott Cheezo and younger kids programs, please click below.
"Be Careful Online" by Brityn Mykhail
To learn more about Brityn Mykhail, click on the any of the links below:
www.britynmykhail.com
www.myspace.com/britynmykhail
www.facebook.com/brityn.mykhail
Additional Resources
Online Safety Project
www.IncredibleInternet.com
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Netsmartz - an educational site for parents and kids
Lingo2word.com - Emoticon Dictionary, Texting Thesaurus, Text Message Translator
U.S. Marshals - District of Colorado
Crime Stoppers - Colorado's "MOST WANTED" Top 100 Sex Offenders
CBI Sex Offender Registry - Convicted Sex Offender Site
My Mobile Watchdog - safeguards your child while using cell phones and immediately alerts you if he or she receives unapproved email, text messages or phone calls.
Links to Additional Information:
Trial Support Function
Investigative Assistance and Technical Support
Training Law Enforcement
Crime Prevention/Proactive Investigations
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Last Modified: Sep 2, 2010 11:36 AM
