I caught this from today's Post Gazette:

Alicia Kozakiewicz spent four horrifying days chained to the floor in the bedroom of a 38-year-old man. Now, five years later, she is sharing her experience to warn other children of the dangers of the Internet.

The story describes Alicia's bravery talking with children -- some as young as 9 -- about her experiences and warning them, often in very blunt terms, about the very real horrors she suffered.

During her program, Ms. Kozakiewicz, who is now majoring in forensic psychology at Point Park University, focused the attention primarily on Internet safety.

She asked the students if they knew what a pedophile was, and then she listed some inappropriate questions they could be asked while online.

She included: A/S/L, meaning age, sex and location, as well as "are you a virgin?"

She told the children to be careful of what they reveal about themselves online, either in chats or on profile pages, and to make sure that their screen names are both innocent and gender neutral.

As I read the article, I kept thinking "Good for her."  Its amazing that she's healed enough to go out and speak about her experiences.  But this is about more than the bravery of one tough young woman.

Good for the school, St. John of God in McKees Rocks, for allowing her to talk so openly with the children  -- I can't imagine a school sponsored conversation about revealing my virginity when I was 9 or 11 or even 16.

Months ago, we saw how other local school districts are burying their heads in the sand when it comes to cyber-safey issues, including schools in the Mon Valley and Word of God in Swissvale. 

Here we have a school and some pretty cool parents facing up to a horrifying truth because its the best way to protect their kids.  Along with active parental involvement in online activity.  After my own brief experience on MySpace.com, its hard to swallow what it must be like for a 9 year old.