The numbers of abuse are staggering and it's quickly become an issue for any parent.
Now parents everywhere are looking at new ways to protect their children against online predators.
Over the past 3 years the internet has grown leaps and bounds, and is now used in classrooms across the country, and the Ohio Valley is no different.
With this in mind, Marshall County Sheriff John Gruzinskas has decided to come up with a new detachment of his department, solely dedicated to protecting kids online and find the predators before they find your children.
"The internet has just become so impact. Kids are now not only using them while at home, but also at school and the predators out there are relying on that," said Marshall County Sheriff John Gruzinskas.
One of the ways officers are able to track sex-offenders is by logging in to certain web sites and posing as children.
They also look for certain key words used by the predators to attract children.
"Our officer is trained in the latest and newest technologies, basically every aspect that a predator can use to entice the children, " Gruzinskas added.
The Marshall County Sheriff's Department has teamed up with the West Virginia State Police as part of their Crimes Against Children Task Force.
"Our goal is to protect the children of Marshall County. The people that prey on them aren't sitting around and waiting, they're going after them and we're being just as proactive in going after them," Gruzinskas said.
The sheriff also asks that if you feel your child may have been contacted by an online predator to call the Marshall County Sheriff's Department at 304-843-1500.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and WTRF. All Rights Reserved.