GARDEN CITY, Mich. – A Garden City man will stay behind bars for allegedly producing child pornography, police say.
Officials have warned parents about the technology the man allegedly used to exploit dozens of children.
The victims are located all over, and the feds say the predator’s reach was amplified by an app that allowed him to connect to young girls.
It’s an app many parents may not know about; it’s outside the top 50 in Apple store downloads for social networking apps.
“It’s just imperative that parents have to monitor and supervise devices,” said Digital Expert Katey McPherson.
Read: Garden City man tricked children into sending explicit photos, videos through Snapchat, police say
Digital Wellness Advocates are sounding the alarm after a Garden City man was charged with producing child porn.
The FBI says Gerald Corrow III allegedly used the game Truth or Dare to trick kids into sending nude photos and videos through various apps.
“There are, unfortunately, a very small percentage of people that want to do this,” McPherson said. “So we have to stay ahead of them, and it is an added layer of parenting like there’s no getting out of it or around it. It’s happening. It’s happening in your zip code. It’s happening in mine.”
Officials say Corrow abused 27 kids, threatening to post nude photos on social media unless they followed his demands.
In one case, police say Corrow got a nine-year-old girl to take explicit photos of her six-year-old sister.
Officials say Corrow connected with the girl on the Wink app linked to her Snapchat account.
Experts say there are plenty of tools to help parents monitor their children’s online activity.
“There are hundreds of apps out there like Bark and Guardian,” McPherson said. You have to have something to do the work for you. It’s just too much to keep up with. On the front of desktops and iPads, your router is going to be your best friend. Your router will filter out explicit content. It will stop this type of website from your child being able to access it. So when people ask me, like, when should I get my child a phone? When should I give social media? My automatic responses when you’re ready for them to see porn or be asked pornographic things.”
Experts say it’s imperative to keep the lines of communication open when talking to your child about what’s inappropriate and what’s appropriate. They also ask that you don’t let your child use devices behind closed doors.