How safe are your children on the Internet?

The CyberTipline, operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, receives between 2,500 and 3,000 reports of suspected illegal behavior targeting children each week. One of those reports directed law enforcement to a Chickasha man last week.

Director of the Exploited Child Unit Michelle Collins said the center is a national clearinghouse of information on missing and exploited children, and their agents work closely with agents from the FBI’s Innocent Images Task Force, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the US Department of Justice’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force units, and the US Postal Inspection Service.

In March of 1998, the CyberTipline was launched as a means of reporting incidents of child exploitation.

Last week, the CyberTipline received more than 2,800 reports. Of those, Collins said 87 percent referenced child pornography and approximately 200 reports included the online enticement of children for sex acts.

In March, the CyberTipline received information about a possible transaction regarding child prostitution stemming from an AOL chatroom discussion.

While case specifics are not available to the public, Collins said the tips come from one of two sources, the general public or service providers. Internet Service Providers, like AOL, are required by federal law to monitor their services and report any possible exploitation of children.

In this instance, according to the affidavit filed in Grady County District Court, the Center was provided a transcript of an Internet conversation regarding the possible sale of a five-year-old for sex.

Collins said the center has a staff of 20 specialists who review cases to determine jurisdiction, a tricky subject on the world wide web. Those cases where jurisdiction cannot be identified are handled at the federal level.

According to the affidavit, the information about this conversation was handed down to the New York State Police as one of the conversation participants was identified as Keith Comire of Cohoes, New York.

That department then contacted the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation when the man offering the child was identified as Jason Todd Burns, 25, of Chickasha.

According to the affidavit, Burns first denied having the conversation when interviewed by OSBI Agent Lonnie Rickey and Chickasha Police Officer Jason Maddox.

Burns reportedly admitted later to Maddox that he did quote a price for a one-year-old and a five-year-old.

Burns was arrested on Friday, May 4, and is in Grady County jail on $500,000 bond.

“This is a very disturbing case, very upsetting,” Collins said, “The one silver lining is that law enforcement is standing ready to respond to these incidents and the public has a resource like the CyberTipline.”