DA presents internet safety program for childrenDate: 6/8/2021 HAMPDEN COUNTY – Local law enforcement are collaborating to host a virtual presentation to educate parents and guardians on how to keep their children protected online.
Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni’s office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI and the Westfield Police Department (WPD) have partnered to offer the program, titled “Keeping Kids Safe and Secure Online,” on June 16, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The program is part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The presentation, which will take place on the Cisco WebEx Platform, is intended for adults only as some of the content is inappropriate for children. Those who attend are encouraged to use headphones and shield their viewing screen from others.
“This particular event is sponsored by the U.S. Attorney’s Office; they conduct this program throughout the state routinely,” James Leydon, communications director for the Hampden District Attorney’s Office, told Reminder Publishing. “A lot of the issues being discussed stem for social media and young people’s access to being online, which presents a lot of opportunities for cyberbullying, sexting, sextortion, and being targets of online predators.”
Participants and presenters will include Gulluni; Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Grant; Assistant District Attorney Johanna Margeson; Sgt. Danielle Rex, a Longmeadow police detective and FBI Task Force member; WPD Lt. Eric Hall; and Lauryn Myers, a victim witness specialist for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Grant has been prosecuting child exploitation and human trafficking as a federal prosecutor since 1999, including time with the Domestic Violence and Sex Offense section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, DC before joining Springfield’s branch office.
Margeson, a lifelong Western Massachusetts resident, has been a member of the Hampden District Attorney’s Office since 2018 and a member of the Special Victims and Domestic Violence Units since 2019. She holds a law degree from Emory University and a master’s degree in public health from Tufts School of Medicine. She also worked with HIPS, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit that works with those engaged in sex work and drug use.
Rex has been a member of the Longmeadow Police Department since 2011 and a detective since 2017, at which time she was also assigned to the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force. Hall has been with the WPD for 25 years, including 15 in the Community Policing Unit, which he led. He was recognized by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with an Excellence in Community Outreach and Prevention Award in 2018.
Myers handles crime involving child exploitation statewide. She has a degree in psychology with an emphasis in forensics.
Leydon said while the Hampden District Attorney’s Office sponsors similar programs throughout the year with similar focus through its Community Outreach Unit, the timing of this event held special significance.
“Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and with kids being online more and more as a result, it is important for parents, grandparents, and care givers to be familiar with these dangers that are out there for young people,” he said.
Pre-registration is required. For more information on how to register, email karen.legace@usdoj.gov.
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