Child protection begins with recognizing the lures

ORANGE PARK - In the same church where 7-year-old Somer Thompson was memorialized after her October abduction and murder, about 300 parents came together Saturday night to learn how to protect their children.

Child protection expert Ken Wooden didn't disappoint, providing parents with a list of the most common lures that predators use to attract and seduce their victims.

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"If predators are using lures, shouldn't we be teaching our kids the lures?" Wooden asked. "You can lure anybody if they don't know the lure."

Pastor David Tarkington of First Baptist Church of Orange Park said the two-hour seminar was prompted by Somer's murder, just a few blocks away. He said a member of his church, Kim Hurse, led a grassroots effort to bring Wooden to Clay County.

Hurse said she was pleased that representatives of state and local government, the School Board, law enforcement and the justice system showed up. The event was simulcast by First Coast News.

"Obviously, our long-term goal is to get this curriculum in the schools," she said.

Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said Wooden offered valid, common-sense suggestions for parents.

"I was sitting here playing back in my mind cases I remember where these lures were used," Beseler said. "There weren't any surprises, but this was just good information that people don't always think about."

Wooden said he first got interested in child protection when he classified fingerprints for the New Jersey State Police in the 1950s. Each week, he said, he would find a half-dozen fingerprints from pedophiles applying to drive school buses.

Later, as a reporter, he covered the aftermath of the Jonestown massacre and was sobered by the number of children murdered in that tragedy. That and other stories he covered, such as the Catholic priests' sex scandal, prompted him to use his journalistic talents to protect children by exposing the lures.

He now runs an organization called Child Lures and Teen Lures Prevention from his Vermont home. He said his program is used by the U.S. Secret Service, State Department, military and FBI.

The most common lures, he said, prey on children's need for affection or attention and their desire to be helpful or obedient to authority.

But young children aren't the only ones at risk, Wooden said. He gave examples of lures being used on college campuses and even military bases.

"College kids are our children, so let's not neglect them," he said.

He urged community leaders to put together a child protection plan that would include a teen TV newscast, in-service training, a TV news series and a school program.

That's the goal of Children's Safe Passage, a volunteer organization founded by Atlantic Beach businessman Mike Williams after Somer's slaying. He and his colleagues attended the seminar and are hoping for a similar grassroots groundswell to convince school officials in Northeast Florida.

"It's all about prevention," Williams said. "We just have to sleep easy at night knowing that we're doing everything we can to prevent another Somer Thompson tragedy."

Members of Somer's family also attended.

"It was very compelling," said her grandmother, Debbie Bowling. "It's too late for us, but hopefully it will help other families."



paul.pinkham@jacksonville.com (904) 359-4107

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/cr..._the_lures