Ohio – She’s now safe, and a 38-year-old man is facing charges, including human trafficking. The charges came after the two were found in North Carolina.
Court documents said Brandon Prichard did “knowingly harbor and transport the 14-year-old girl with the intent that she be held for sexual servitude.”
“This really was one of the lucky ones where they found her so quickly,” said Stephen Smith with A Wired Family.
Smith and his group, A Wired Family, travel across the Tri-State educating parents and their kids about technology safety.
A lot of the technology used by law enforcement may have helped this along, as far as finding the girl, but a lot of the technology in the hands of kids also facilitates this happening,” said Smith.
He said that it’s a constant challenge with kids getting phones at younger ages and the development of ever-changing technology.
“When we started this program in 2009, we started talking to juniors and seniors.
Two years later, it was middle school kids; sometimes we’re speaking to kids as young as the first grade,” said Smith.
He said that parents being more open with their children about social media use is essential to keeping them safe.
“I always tell parents that you might not be able to afford the parental controls, but the greatest parental control is talking to your kid,” said Smith.
He said that setting guidelines before starting the accounts is a good way to help, and keeping them private is also important.
“Write a contract on what they’re going to be able to do or not do, and revisit that every other month,” said Smith. “Talking with your kids, there’s nothing more important than that.”
