Parents warned be vigilant during holidays after teacher convicted ofsexual solicitation

Internet

Leanne Jenkins---Parents need to be vigilant about what their young people do and receive on the computer as one set of parents found out the hard way that even teachers can try to entice young people into sexual activities through contact over the Internet.

“I was just sick,” says Michelle Peterson, an Illinois resident, “Because I knew in my heart, this isn't just regular text messaging.”

Peterson found her son talking on the phone with the teacher very late at night and also discovered thousands of messages between the teacher, Steffen Balegno and her son. Her son,, Andrew Koscik, revealed the teacher had offered him money to help make a sexually explicit video. Balegno was also accused of offering Andrew money for oral sex.

“I was 15 years old,” Andrew says. “And you don’t know what to do in that situation.” He also said he was reluctant to report the incidents because he didn't want the teacher to lose his job.

Grandy County State's Attorney Jason Helland offers this advice to parents to be vigilant about bringing digital technology into their households without being careful with who corresponds with their children and the manner and conent of the correspondence because, as Helland explains, “They may be inviting the fox into the hen house.” http://chicagopressrelease.com/news/teacher-convicted-of-sending-student-racy-texts