FBI Warns About Encountering Child Sex Predators On The Internet

The FBI says your child is certain to come across a sexual predator when going into online chat rooms.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation says the Internet makes it easier than ever for predators to access your children.

The bureau's figures show 40,000 chat rooms that are frequented by sexual predators, and your child has a 100 percent chance of encountering one in those chat rooms.

Jason Weis works with a non-profit organization called Stop Child Trafficking Now, and sees predators trying to entice children over the Internet every day. Weis has even more startling numbers.

About one in seven kids age 10-17 are solicited for sex over the Internet. Thirty-four percent reported they had exposure to sexual material, without even looking for it.

Weis says a key to avoiding this problem is communicating with your children and knowing what they're doing on the Internet.

"If your child is in a chatroom, you need to be aware that this is a problem. There are men that are grooming kids, who are interested in nothing but to have sex with your child," said Jason Weis.

The FBI says child porn is one of the fastest growing crimes in the U.S., and related arrests have gone up 2,500 percent in the last decade.

Information on the FBI's studies on children and the Internet.