January 22, 2020 3:20 a.m.
The Douglas County Human Trafficking Task Force will have a discussion about “Teens, Trafficking, & Online Predators” on Thursday night.
The event is being held as an awareness event for parents and teens. Organizers said that by age 14, 77% of teens have been contacted by a predator online. Research has shown that 82% of online sex crimes against minors begin with the offender using the child’s social networking site to gain information, according to the Task Force. Statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation say that more than 500,000 predators are online every day.
Detective Kevin Taggart of the Myrtle Creek Police Department will be the speaker. The event will be held at the Winston Community Center from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
The presentation is free. Some material covered may not be suitable for children under age 12.
Go to the Douglas County Human Trafficking Task Force Facebook page for more information about the group and about Thursday’s event.