Redondo Beach child predator case - the "old" way and the "new" way

In beginning her closing argument Monday in Raphael Jakim's trial for allegedly meeting a minor for sex, Deputy District Attorney Delanee Hicks told the jury that the Internet offers many valuable opportunities - like making restaurant reservations, buying airline tickets and social networking. But it also gives pedophiles many ways to contact and groom their vulnerable victims anonymously and under the radar, she said, making online predators very hard to catch.

Hicks compared the "old" ways pedophiles operated versus the "new." The old way involved lines like, "Hey little girl, would you like some candy?" or "Hey little boy, I lost my dog. Can you help me find my dog?"

But because the new way makes it easy for child predators to find kids and even establish relationships with them with a few key strokes, the Internet needs a new way to fight crime.

Jakim's case is the result of a sting that was conducted by Torrance Detective Dennis Brady, who is a member of the Interent Crimes Against Children task force. If you've ever watched Dateline NBC's - To Catch A Predator, you have a pretty good idea how that works. To find out more about how to keep kids safe online, check out these useful sites:

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's NetSmartz411

The Los Angeles District Attorney's Protecting Our Kids page

The jury in Jakim's trial resumes deliberations this afternoon.