A serious matter - Child Predators and Tournament Season

[SoCalDad]

Softball Parents,

About an hour ago in San Diego John Gardner was sentenced for the rape and murder of Chelsea King and Amber Dubois as well as the attempted rape of another woman. Child predators live among us and our daughters are their prey. This is the start of tournament season and it is imperative that we parents are proactive and take steps to protect our children. After the news of Chelsea's abduction broke a few months ago, and that a registered sex offender was the prime suspect, I did a search of our Megan's Law website and learned that 23 sex offenders live within 10 miles of my home rec fields.

Tournaments are a perfect time for these monsters to scout for victims. Tournaments have hundreds if not thousands of attendees and you have no idea who belongs and who does not. I am taking several protective steps and I encourage you to do so as well. First I printed off booklets that contain the picture and information on over 100 sex offenders that live within 25 miles of my home rec fields. The key board members have a copy as do the managers and the snack shack. We have asked a few of the parents that are in law enforcement to provide a presence at our fields during the tournament. I have also implemented rules that require all players go in pairs or with their parents everywhere at the tournaments. These are 14U girls so those with younger teams may want to implement even stricter standards. I have also spoken to my parents about the importance of keeping an eye on their other children. I have seen too many times parents focused on their DD on the field and their younger child playing out of sight.

Tournament season is an exciting time and the girls will have memories for a lifetime. As parents we need to take steps and action to ensure they are positive and happy memories. God bless.

 

[chapelhillbilly]

I'm so glad you posted this because we all need to be on guard when it comes to our kids. It is so easy to be caught up in a game and realize sometimes your other children have wandered off to play.

 

[amanda_cake]

Agree with this. Also, watch your equipment. Living in a small area where people don't even lock the doors, when we go other places (like traveling for school ball) we have to remember not to leave pocket books lying around and stuff like that. I'm awful about it at my home field. Bat bag with $1,000 worth of equipment in it, $80 bucket of balls, and purse with at least $100 cash in it with iPod and cell phone sat under a light pole for the majority of the night. Far, far too trusting.

 

[ChebJudy]

It's not just during Tournament games that you have be wary, but early practices as well. We had two older men coming to our Junior/13U practices two years ago, and all of us parents assumed it was someone elses grandfathers/uncles since none of us personally recognized them. Turned out they didn't know anyone on the team or any other team around, when the police asked them about it the said they just liked watching the girls. Our league was hosting the Minor State Tournament a few weeks later. Needless to say the police were extra vigilant for those two gentlement. I haven't seen them around since then.

 

[sluggers]

Parents should always be vigilant and aware of their child's place in any crowded setting.

A child should be taught two basic rules:

1) Never, ever go with a stranger, no matter what threat the stranger makes. Predators rarely do anything at the place they abduct the child. They almost always take the child away before assaulting the child.
2) If approached, the child should scream his/her head off. This is so simple, yet children always forget this.

By far, the largest group of child abusers are family members. The second largest group is people who are responsible for the care of the child--like coaches, teachers, etc. The third largest group is people who know the child.