Six Part Series Follows Mom Pedophile Hunter

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‘Undercover Underage’ star and activist Roo Powell on how

catching the bad guys affects her parenting style

Mum-of-three dresses up as a teen to lure out the online predators

Published:  December 14, 2021 11:02

Karishma H. Nandkeolyar, Parenting Editor

Gulf News

A six-part series 'Undercover Underage' follows Roo Powell as she chases down online predators.

Image Credit: Supplied

In most homes, a monitor has become another member of the family; a babysitter, a teacher, a never-ending source of fun. And while that’s something that doesn’t need to be scary, it can morph into a gateway to evil – it’s an easy way for predators to connect with children who don’t know enough not to stay away.

US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says there are almost half-a-million registered sex offenders in America – of these, between 80,000 and 100,000 are missing.

Meet Roo Powell, the founder of Safe from Online Sex Abuse, a non-profit dedicated to catching and putting these people away.

Mum-of-three Powell who catfishes online as a teenager – she is in actuality 38 years old – chats with predators, creates logs of inappropriate responses and then coordinates with law enforcement to capture and prosecute the culprits.

A documentary based on these missions, called ‘Undercover Underage’, is now available to stream on STARZPLAY and Jawwy TV.  

Also streaming on Discovery+.

Need of the hour

The award-winning writer and child advocate tells Gulf News in an interview that her work is the need of the hour, globally. She explains: “When I grew up, we didn't have unfettered access to the internet. I didn't grow up with a smartphone in my hand, and we’re raising the first generation of kids that is growing up with smartphones in their hand, which means we're really navigating unchartered waters. And I think technology is wonderful. I think it gives us access to a number of really wonderful things, the news, communicating with family and friends, cultures, ideas but it's also an avenue that perpetrators can use to abuse children. And because it's new, we need to have a new way of thinking when tackling this issue. And it is really broad. It is a concern. And that's why I wanted to really put my effort behind helping to stop it.”

A screenshot from the series 'Undercover Underage'. The team begins work at about 3pm.

There is much more on this story at Gulf News

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