Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood announced a series of community meetings where parents, grandparents and other guardians can learn how to protect kids from online predators and other dangers.
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office has conducted several proactive predator sting operations including Operation Indecent Proposal, Operation Unlawful Attraction, Operation Deviant Desire, Operation Illicit Solicit, and Operation Cyber Scumbag, as well as routine operations to check and enforce sexual offender and predator registration requirements.
The meetings, which will include presenters from the Sheriff’s Office and from the Florida Department of Children and Families, are scheduled to continue through August with events in DeLand, Deltona, DeBary and Pierson. The first event was in New Smyrna Beach.
“If your kids are spending their time online, you need to be aware of what’s out there,” Sheriff Chitwood said. “Your kids’ safety starts at home, and we want every family to have the knowledge and the tools to avoid the predators we know are using the same apps kids use every day.”
The series of meetings was sparked by the recent arrest of a 29-year-old Cocoa Beach man who traveled to Deltona for sex with a 12-year-old girl he met on the Wink app and frequently messaged on Instagram.
Another noteworthy case in Volusia County was the February 2021 arrest of a 22-year-old Orlando man found in a motel room with a missing 13-year-old girl he met via Snapchat.
Each meeting will also include Q&A and discussions on the facts about human trafficking.
Each event runs from 6pm to 7:30pm. The meeting schedule is:
Monday, August 7th
Tomoka Christian Church
1101 E. Plymouth Ave., DeLand
Wednesday, August 9th
Deltona City Hall
2345 Providence Blvd., Deltona
Monday, August 28th
DeBary City Hall
16 Colomba Road, DeBary
Tuesday, August 29th
Mission San Jose of Saint Peter
165 Emporia Road, Pierson
