As parents, it’s our responsibility to keep our children safe and away from people who would do them harm.
A large part of the role is teaching children to be aware of the dangers they face in every day life – be that when online or outside when physically interacting with other human beings.
One dad was forced to take matters into his own hands when he found out that his 15-year-old daughter was being groomed by a stranger on the internet.
When parental control software alerted this dad that a sᴇxᴜᴀʟ ᴘʀᴇᴅᴀᴛᴏʀ was after his 15-year-old daughter, he notified the police. But the concerned father wasn’t about to just sit idly by and wait. Instead, he set a trap to catch the online stalker in his own backyard. And the hidden camera footage is truly chilling!
He learned his daughter was talking to a man more than twice her age — a 33-year-old man who wanted to meet up with her.
“He was messaging her and encouraging her to meet him,” the father says, “kind of setting up a situation to where she would lose her ᴠɪʀɢɪɴɪᴛʏ with him.”
Needless to say, the fathe was horrified.
The dad, who has kept his family’s identity secret, took his proof to the police. But he says they told him they couldn’t really do anything until the suspected predator actually showed up.
And so, the devoted dad from Oklahoma took matters into his own hands.
The messages to his daughter suggested the online stalker planned to come to the family home that night. The father knew he needed to stop the man. So, he hatched a plan to protect his daughter.
With the help of some cousins, he set a trap in his own backyard.
They put up a hidden camera and pointed it toward a tent in the backyard where the stalker thought the 15-year-old would be waiting. Really, it was a grown woman.
At midnight, the online stalker came creeping into the backyard. He thought he would be meeting with an underage girl. Instead, her dad and two other men tackled him to the ground.
“I told him that he stepped into the wrong backyard, and he messed with the wrong little girl,” the brave dad said.
They secured the suspected predator’s hands and feet with zip ties and called the cops.
Police don’t recommend civilians act on their own like this. But they were definitely impressed by this father’s backyard sting operation, calling it “almost professional.”
“They did it without harming him or leaving any bruises or marks on him,” Del City police Maj. Jody Suit said. “But we never encourage people to take the law into their own hands. That’s what we’re paid to take risks for.”
What to do if you encounter a stalker
– Report to the police what you have experienced.
– Try to document all contact. Save SMS, messages on your answering machine, emails, social media messages, letters etc.
– Tell people that you feel threatened.
– Be very clear that you don’t want contact with that person. Avoid all contact – even forms of rejection can lead to renewed interest on the part of the stalker.
– You may need to change both your phone number and email address. Be careful and think security first when using social media.
– Remember that you can apply for a contact restraining order via the police.
References: godupdates.com, en.newsner.com
