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I received a press release last week from the United States Department of Justice regarding “Operation Restore Justice”, a coordinated nationwide enforcement effort to identify, track and arrest child sex predators.

Over the course of five days, the operation resulted in the rescue of 115 children and the arrests of 205 child sexual abuse offenders. Six of those arrests were in North Carolina. Thankfully they are off the street and will hopefully face lengthy prison terms, but the hard cold fact is there are other predators lurking, waiting for their opportunity to harm – physically and mentally – our most vulnerable citizens: innocent children.

Those arrested in North Carolina include:

John Matthew Miller, age 35 of Wilmington, is charged with sex trafficking of a minor; enticing a minor to engage in illegal sexual conduct; and producing, distributing, receiving, and possessing child sexual abuse material. He was a registered sex offender at the time of the offense.

Jesse Lonzo Teal, age 72 of Bolivia, is charged with sex trafficking of a minor, enticing a minor to engage in illegal sexual conduct, producing child sexual abuse material, and using the internet to promote an illegal prostitution business enterprise.

William Justin Lewis, age 54 of Louisburg, is charged with distributing child sexual abuse material and possessing child sexual abuse material.

Donte Melvin Peek, age 34 of Durham, is charged with attempted enticement of a minor, distribution of child sexual abuse material, receipt of child sexual abuse material, and possession of child sexual abuse material.

Jonathan Robert Davlin, age 48 of Huntersville, is charged with transportation of child sexual abuse material and possession and access with intent to view child sexual abuse material involving prepubescent minors.

Terrell Shawn Anderson, age 30 and previously of Charlotte, is charged with distributing child sexual abuse material and possession child sexual abuse material.

Others arrested around the country include a state trooper and Army Reservist in Minnesota charged with allegedly producing child sexual abuse material while wearing his uniforms. In Norfolk, VA, an illegal alien from Mexico is accused of transporting a minor across state lines for sex. In Washington, D.C., a former Metropolitan Police Department Police Officer was arrested for allegedly trafficking minor victims.

In many cases, parental vigilance and community outreach efforts played a critical role in bringing these offenders to justice. I would encourage all parents/guardians to serve as the first line of defense against child predators. That defense starts with knowing whom their children are interacting with online. The internet, for all of its benefits, also gives criminals and predators an easy way to reach young people.

The FBI most often sees crimes against children begin when an adult forges a relationship with a young victim online and then later arranges to meet and abuse the child or coerces a child into producing sexually explicit images or videos through manipulation, gifts, or threats — a crime called sextortion.

The most important advice for parents is to have open and ongoing conversations about safe and appropriate online behavior. Other advice to consider includes:

Educate yourself about the websites, software, games, and apps that your children use.

Check their social media and gaming profiles and posts. Have conversations about what is appropriate to say or share.

Explain to your kids that once images or comments are posted online they can be shared with anyone and never truly disappear.

Make sure your kids use privacy settings to restrict access to their online profiles.

Tell your children to be extremely wary when communicating with anyone online who they do not know in real life.

Encourage kids to choose appropriate screen names and to create strong passwords.

Make it a rule with your kids that they can’t arrange to meet up with someone they met online without your knowledge and supervision.

Stress to your children that making any kind of threat online, even if they think it’s a joke, is a crime.

Report any inappropriate contact between an adult and your child to law enforcement immediately. Notify the site they were using, too.

The FBI’s Safe Online Surfing (SOS) program teaches students in grades 3 to 8 how to navigate the web safely. The age-appropriate lessons and games cover topics like cyberbullying, protecting personal information, recognizing trustworthy and untrustworthy sites, and avoiding malware. The program is available in English or Spanish.

Anyone can complete the activities on the FBI SOS website. The testing and competition, however, are only open to students in grades 3-8 whose teachers have registered their public, private, or home schools through the SOS website.

The Justice Department partners with and oversees funding grants for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives and shares tips about possible child sexual exploitation received through its 24/7 hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org.

The FBI has jurisdiction to immediately investigate any reported mysterious disappearance or kidnapping involving a child. Do not wait to report a missing child. Call your local FBI field office.

To report online child sexual exploitation, use the electronic Cyber Tip Line or call 1-800-843-5678. The Cyber Tip Line is operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in partnership with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

The Justice Department urges the public to remain vigilant and report suspected exploitation of a child through the FBI’s tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), tips.fbi.gov, or by calling your local FBI field office.

Our children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and other young family members look to us, adults, to keep them out of harm’s way. A good place to start is to follow the advice of the FBI and the Justice Department. Their years of expertise in these matters can help current and future generations of young people understand the dangers they face while surfing the web or participating in online games.

Cal Bryant is the Editor of Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact him at cal.bryant@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7207.