Representatives from the DA's Office, law enforcement and Kids' Place attend Tuesday's press conference.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire District Attorney's Office wants to break the silence about virtual child abuse that predators thrive on.

"Silence is the ally of an abuser," District Attorney Timothy Shugrue said.

On Tuesday, Shugrue and the Berkshire County Kids' Place & Violence Prevention Center detailed their newly created internet safety program that was softly rolled out in December.

"When I first took the office, I made a pledge that I wanted to reinstate youth programming, particularly school-based programs offered by the district attorney's office. Today, I'm proud to announce that I fulfilled that pledge," the DA said.

"The District Attorney's Office, in partnership with the Kids' Place, now offers internet safety education not just for children, but also for caregivers as well."

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Shugrue said his office sees an "astronomical" amount of child sex abuse cases that originate on or happen online. He put that down to the Berkshires not being silent when it comes to reporting abuse. 

"We have a lot of reporting of child abuse cases and we have a lot of follow-up with that," he said.

Heather Williamson, program director at Kids' Place, is often asked how to know which children are in danger. Her answer: "All of our kids are on the internet right now. They're all in danger of accessing people that have a harmful nature towards them."  

The educational program was developed by both agencies using the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's NetSmartz curriculum model. Two facilitators, one from the DA's Office and one from the Kids' Place, travel to schools to meet with students and caregivers across the county.

There will soon be billboards for public awareness.

"As technology rapidly evolves and internet access reaches new highs, our children face greater risks than ever before," Williamson said.

"As professionals, community members, and parents, it is our responsibility to educate, protect, and provide resources to keep children safe. While this topic isn't new, the threats facing children online are more serious than ever."

Other resources, such as Take It Down, a service that allows minors to get sexually explicit material taken off the internet, were highlighted. Shugrue emphasized that the program will hold presentations anywhere it is welcome.

"We would not let our children play outside without first teaching them how to stay safe and ensure that they are supervised. Therefore, we should not allow children to wander the digital world without first providing them with the education they need to stay safe and the supervision they deserve," he said.

"The virtual world is filled with risk. That's our responsibility to take proactive steps to mitigate them. Education is the most powerful tool we have in preventing online exploitation. Growing up, we heard about the mysterious white van that was said to be lurking in our neighborhoods, ready to kidnap children. Well, today, that white van exists in the online world."

He explained that children can "easily" be exposed to inappropriate or violent content even on apps and websites that are marketed as being child-friendly, and "they can be lured into private chats and under pressure, coerced into sharing inappropriate images for fear of retaliation against them or their families."

"Through our school Internet safety program, we teach children how to recognize and handle situations where they feel threatened or unsafe. However, educating children is only part of the equation to keeping kids safe," Shugrue said.

"Many parents feel that their children know more about technology and the online world than they do, and many are unsure how to initiate conversations about online safety or take steps to supervise and set the parental controls. Our parent and caregiver program provides adults with the tools that they need to create a safer online environment for their children."

Chief of the Child Abuse Unit Andrew Giarolo explained that when his team, which includes several local partners, is called into action, the child only has to speak to one person at Kids' Place as a way build trust and not overwhelm the child.

"We have two very special rooms that the kids can go in. They're comfortable. They've got cushy chairs. We've got stuffed animals if the kids need it. We've got crayons and drawing and Play-Doh, whatever can help this kid be most comfortable talking about what is possibly the worst thing that's ever happened to them," he said.

"Monitoring that interview from a separate room is our entire team, and each member of this team has the opportunity to ask questions of this kid from their respective disciplines to ensure that we are adequately responding to the needs of each child."

Brian Berkel, who coordinates cases of children being commercially sexually exploited, asserted that this is a real thing that happens in Berkshire County, so much so that a team is dedicated to reviewing those cases.

"When these cases come in, if it's specific to a CSEC matter, we take a victim-centric approach. If they're a younger kid, even if they're a teenager, we recognize that they're not at fault in these situations and we treat them accordingly," he said. "Exploitation can happen anywhere."

He stressed that they are not out to vilify the internet.

"The internet itself is fantastic. There are a lot of great things that we gain from the internet, but there are bad people who share that space with us and with our children," he said. "And for these predators, it's easier on the internet because they don't even need to leave their home. Predators pray where children play. That's always been an understanding."

The team talks about topics such as sexting, which 20 percent of teens say they participate in, sextortion, and human trafficking.

"When we talk about that to the kids in the classes, we also point out that 20 percent is a lot, but it's not everybody, it's not even half," Berkel said.

"We really stress that because we don't want them to get caught up in the 'Everybody does it' sort of mentality. We don't want that to be a reason that they feel pressured into doing something."

He explained that they aim to address the root cause, urging kids and teens to think before they send and to avoid asking for explicit content from peers. The term "child pornography" is being replaced by CSEC, or commercial sexual exploitation of children, to recognize that it is abuse, not porn.

Berkel emphasized the importance of parents fostering a safe space to speak with their children about this topic because "We can't arrest our way out of this epidemic, so we really just need to have good, honest conversations with our kids."

Berkshire County Kids' Place provides a safe, homelike atmosphere for child abuse victims and their non-offending family members. Staff members help recognize the signs of abuse, help children recover from the trauma they have experienced, and help non-offending parents or family members to support their children during the healing process.

Shugrue helped found the nonprofit Berkshire County Children's Advocacy Center (now the Kids' Place) in 1993; the Wendell Avenue building was purchased the next year. Today, the facility is one of 12 in the state and 1,000 in the world.
 

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