TOMPKINS COUNTY, N.Y. -- Darin Strong is one teacher Ithaca High students won't see as they return to school. Strong has been charged with sex crimes and has been put on administrative leave.
Police say sexual online conversations Strong had with a Pennsylvania resident he thought was a young girl ultimately led to his arrest.
"I create one profile and I utilize that single profile with all the information in it to chat with as many men who want to chat with a 13-year-old girl," said Bill Latchford, the founder of ProtectChildrenOnline.org.
Once a year, Latchford goes online and poses as a 13-year-old girl. His hope is to raise awareness by showing people that older men are willing to engage in sexual conversations with young girls, even in his small town of Tyrone, Pennsylvania.
A Pennsylvania man is taking the safety of children online into his own hands. Bill Latchford founded the Web site ProtectChildrenOnline.org. Police say Latchford chatted online with an Ithaca High teacher who thought he was having an explicit conversation with a teenage girl. Our Allison Lazarz spoke with Latchford about his goal to raise awareness of online dangers.
"There's nowhere that is immune to this. And it is just not the person that's hiding in the bushes in a trench coat that you have to worry about. The bushes now are the computer and the trench coat could be anything from a doctor's jacket to a police officer's badge. There is no one who is not capable of doing this," said Latchford.
Strong was a physical education teacher and girls volleyball coach at Ithaca High School. Police say he used the screen name dstrong03 when chatting with Latchford and also exposed himself via a webcam.
"Dstrong03 ended up being more graphic because of the webcam that was brought into play. That was the first webcam issues that I had run into and, needless to say, I didn't think someone would do that, but they did," said Latchford.
Latchford warns parents not to use computers as a babysitter. He says it's their responsibility to check up on what their kids are doing online.
"They need to keep the computer in a centralized location. Never ever let them keep it in their bedroom," said Latchford.
Latchford is now working with police to arrest two other men, who also engaged in sexual conversations.
To learn more about Latchford's efforts you can check out Latchford's Website: ProtectChildrenOnline.org.