No one, especially youngsters, loves having others scrutinize their stuff. However, one parent in Michigan saved his daughter’s life after finding out what she was up to by looking through her iPad. Scott Jenkins of Portage, Michigan, wrote on his blog in October 2017 about how he saved his eldest daughter’s life five years ago by checking on her iPad when she started being secretive and deceptive.
All of this started when she met a 15-year-old guy called Bruce on Instagram. “I would grab her tablet after she went to sleep and start digging through her messages and pictures, seeing if things looked appropriate,” Jenkins revealed. When he observed “an unusual time gap in some messages and images,” he didn’t think much about it for two weeks.
“I had a strange sensation one night and grabbed her tablet to perform what I assumed would be a routine check. “What I saw still haunts my head and makes my heart sink,” he wrote. Jenkins spotted an embarrassing picture, forcing him to look through his daughter’s social media accounts. Jenkins went searching for some of the individuals in Bruce’s network of friends and was appalled to learn that they were all adult males.
He decided to seek aid from the police. After seven months of searching through all of the family’s digital devices, investigators from the Portage Police Department’s Cyber Task Force encouraged Jenkins to bring his whole family to the police station “as soon as possible.” Jenkins was told at the station that he had protected his daughter from kidnappers.
To be more explicit, the males were using Bruce “as a scout” to bring “young girls into his circle as prey for the men to pick and choose from.” Jenkins also recognized he was on the brink of losing his daughter when she informed him she was planning to meet up with her “friends.” Jenkins hoped that by sharing his personal narrative, other parents would become more worried about what their children were doing.
“I hope this instills fear in each and every one of you,” he continued. “Look into your children’s accounts, ask them questions, and tell them not to make “friends” with people they don’t know.” I had no clue how close I was to never seeing my children again; it’s worth your child’s sorrow and shattered heart to keep them safe.”
It merely goes to demonstrate how vital it is for every parent to teach their children about the risks of the internet. Now is the time to share this news with your network!