Investigation serves as reminder of online safety

By Julia Wolf

Parents are reminded to talk to their children about online safety, in the midst of an ongoing investigation by the Cadott Police Department.

The police department released an open letter Feb. 10, to parents and students in the Cadott Area School District, that they are conducting an investigation involving the common social media applications, Snapchat and TikTok.

They are asking parents to check all available accounts of their children for the Snapchat user names Villian Deku, villain_dek2022, villiandeku23, Johnny, Delilah Willson and Delilah_ w208676, the TikTok username villandeku285, and Fortnite username herovillandeku.

“At this point, because it’s still very much an evolving investigation, we can just say that some of those usernames have been in contact with some students at the school,” said Cadott Police Officer Sarah Hewitt. “And we wanted to see if any others had had contact with them and, if so, what kind of conversations they have had, if there is anything concerning.”

Any correspondence with those usernames, or any close matches or variations, should be documented and reported to the police department. They ask that any available information, including date and timestamps, should be attached.

Hewitt says, after reporting to the police department, it is up to parents what to do.

“It’s really going to depend on what they find in those conversations,” said Hewitt.

The police department also says usernames can be changed by the user, hidden by nicknames or hidden in group chats with other users. They also say any device with access to Wi-Fi can be used to reach accounts, not just working phones, and access is not always dependent on downloading an app, or using an email or phone number.

Hewitt says they are not sure of the scope of the concern and the situation serves as a reminder for parents to be more aware of what their children are doing on electronics.

“It’s been quite an eye-opener for a lot of parents that I’ve been talking to the last few days here,” said Hewitt.

She says every family is different in how they handle their child’s privacy and freedom online, but says there are dangers out there that everyone should be aware of and keep their eyes out for.

“Make friends with people you know,” said Hewitt.

If parents have questions or would like assistance checking their child’s social media accounts, they can call the Cadott Police Department, at 715-2894238.