CHP officer works with FBI in targeting Internet predators
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

He doesn't want to be called Chris Hanson, but Jeffrey Ferber admits he shares a mission with the host of the popular NBC Dateline series "To Catch a Predator": Both seek to bring sexual offenders to justice.

Ferber, a Simi Valley resident, is the sole California Highway Patrol officer in the state assigned to work with an FBI task force aimed at curtailing child pornography and busting Internet predators.

Like the undercover teams seen on TV, members of the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) task force go to online chat rooms posing as teenagers to elicit inappropriate behavior from sexual predators.

"We are advocates for children. The goal is to get these people who are abusing our children off our street," said Ferber. Sex offenders usually get a minimum of 10 years in jail.

Just as it has with other types of pornography, the Internet has made child pornography more easily accessible, Ferber said, increasing the likelihood for criminal activity.

"The problem has existed for a long time, but prior to the Internet it wasn't as available to the average person as it now is," he said.

In recent months, SAFE, which is based in Los Angeles, has been involved in a project that's yielded more than 30 search warrants.

A similar sweep last summer resulted in 13 arrests, two of them in Ventura County- one in Simi Valley, at a house not far from Ferber's home.

Individuals who view or produce child pornography are not easy to define.

"It's a difficult crime to detect," Ferber said. "In the old days, the perception was that only gross-looking old men would be involved in this crime, but that's not reality."

The average culprit is a white male between the ages of 30 and 45, but the task force has arrested women, younger males and people of all racial backgrounds, he said.

And it's not unusual for the task force to catch individuals, including teachers, who gain the trust of parents before committing a crime against a child, Ferber said.

In some cases, children are being lured away from their families by sexual predators using the Internet to disguise their intentions.

Over time, the relationship may evolve into telephone conversations and, in the worst case, a personal meeting.

For this reason, parents must be proactive to protect their children, said Ferber, who hosts Internet safety lectures to educate parents on the subject.

"The parents are the ones you need to reach because they're the ones who provide access to the Internet and computers," he said.

Safety tips include keeping computers in a public place where adults supervise online activities, maintaining an open line of communication with youngsters and using special software to track online conversations and whereabouts.

"If a teacher or adult is talking to your son or daughter about something inappropriate, you have to have a relationship and dialogue with your child so they feel comfortable enough to share the information," Ferber said.

Parents should be sensitive and tactful when they speak to their children about the subject of Internet safety.

"You have to let your child know you trust them but you don't necessarily trust other people," he said.

Ferber, who has been with the CHP for 25 years, 11 as a detective, said his assignment with the FBI gives him great satisfaction because the people he puts away are "those who deserve it most."

The work of the SAFE task force, Ferber said, is best summed up in the words of a fellow team member speaking about his 4-year-old son.

"He tells people his daddy protects children."

The team hopes it did just that this weekend when it apprehended Eric David Lacey, a fugitive who was listed on America's Most Wanted for alleged involvement with child pornography.

"Ferber is a great officer, and he's an asset to all of us who live and work in Ventura County," said Capt. Cliff Williams, who's known Ferber since 1984.

Additional resources for keeping children safe while they're online may be found on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's website at www.missingkids .com, at FBI.gov. and at www.netsmartz.org.