…Taylor allegedly made suggestive comments to several young people in his congregation, prompting parents to approach the pastor of the church. In response to those complaints, the pastor contacted Lancaster County Detectives and the Lancaster City Police Department, who forwarded the case to the Attorney General’s Office because of the specialized investigations performed by the Child Predator Unit.The article suggests parents should "Discuss internet safety with their children," which seems odd to me since most parents are not qualified to discuss the topic. Heck, few people are qualified. It's one of those gray areas that others assume people know about, but few actually do. A case in point… I talked to a parent last week about her son's use of an iPad for web surfing. She was sure that what her son was doing was safe because she reviewed the sites he had visited. When I showed her private browsing, she lost all confidence. Private browsing is just one way a smart kid can get around a parent's good intentions. There are so many more ways to get around safety features. It boggles my mind. Most people know nothing about this stuff. I work in this area professionally and I struggle to keep up. What does a layman know?
Source: Lancaster County associate pastor arrested of Attorney General's Child Predator Unit by Amanda Smith.
One of the problems that keeps me up at night is that parents let kids have Facebook accounts. A few months on Facebook is all it takes for a kids to figure out how to get around all of the safeguards. Recent studies show that young girls who use Facebook can stunt their emotional devleopment. You do the math. Youth, immaturity, emotional issues… It all ends with someone like pastor Taylor sexting your child, or worse.
I've been asked to start speaking on this issue at local churches and civic groups. I think its time I put together another PowerPoint deck and start getting the word out. It is the least I can do.
Update 1/27/2014
Clarence Taylor was convicted today on all three charges. Ball was revoked and reset to $100k.
