At 10:32 pm on a Thursday evening, right before bed, I checked Facebook for any updates. A link was shared in a Moms group I’m part of. The link was to an article at Medium by a 37-year-old mom who works for BARK who posed as an 11-year-old girl in order to catch and trap any online lurker trying to send sexual content to children. BARK uses AI (artificial intelligence) to alert parents and schools when children are experiencing issues like cyberbullying, depression, threats of violence or targeting by sexual predators.

I reluctantly read the article, learning how easy it was for a sexual predator to find and talk to young people using Instagram - like, in seconds thanks to hashtags and selfies - and begin a conversation with an 11-year-old who doesn’t know much about birds and bees. I made a mental note to think about how to make my kids aware of this reality, as we constantly navigate their use of devices, which in many cases, make online social interaction required in order to play them (Nintendo Switch and XBox, etc.).

This morning in this week’s issue of the Highlands Current, editor Chip Rowe reported on a related story of what I read about at BARK - but IRL (In Real Life) - in Cold Spring. A former mayoral candidate, Charles E. “Chuck” Hustis III, who served two terms as a Village of Cold Spring trustee and worked as a substitute teacher who last was in a Cold Spring classroom in 2016, was arrested by the FBI on Monday and charged with “attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity,” according to federal officials, the article stated. The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. He was released to home confinement on a $150,000 bond, as reported in the article.

The article went on to expose how the man was caught - from the first report by a 16-year-old male who received solicitations from the accused - who was one of his substitute teachers - via Facebook Messenger.

The rest of the details of this step-by-step almost-encounter are made clear in the Highlands Current in this week’s edition of the paper, or any time after the print issue is gone it’s published online. After the teenager reported it, an FBI agent took over his Facebook account to pose as the teenager. The FBI agent was able to get photos and other evidence that were sent by the accused, and agree to meet (while posing as the teenager). The suggested meetup by the accused was to take place at the Foodtown parking lot, where he has been a manager.

The article suggested that anyone with relevant information should contact the agency at (800) 225-5324.