Inside the Mind of a Pedophile

So, I'm sure everybody has heard about Joseph Duncan, recently arrested, who "allegedly" kidnapped a brother and sister in Idaho. While he didn't meet them online, he did keep a blog which was last updated a mere two days before he "allegedly" kidnapped those kids.

I find this interesting for a couple reasons. First, it outlines what is going on in the mind of a pedophile, which is great for any parent. I mean how better to learn how to protect your kids then knowing how these people operate? Second, it just goes to show that anybody can get a blog. If you notice there are lots of comments on it (albeit some of which were posted after he was arrested, as this blog has definitely made its way around the blogosphere) and it was created on blogspot, which is one of the most popular blogging communities on the Internet. Any kid just searching through blogs could've landed on it and read through it.

I think its time to start coming up with some safeguards for blogs. I think they're a great idea (I should I keep 3 of them ;) ), but there's so much potential for kids to come across the wrong material or people. Some basic protection tips are to keep the computer in a common room in the house and become a subscriber to your kid's blog. Plus I posted previously on how to act on suspicions of your child being contacted by an online predator.

Well, that's all I have for now. I hope everybody had an excellent holiday weekend! I know I did between Busch Gardens, pool parties and fireworks. It was a nice reprieve from the daily grind. However I'm back to it now...