What Houston-Area Parents Should Know About Child Predators and the Truth About Stranger Danger

HOUSTON – A Houston ISD teacher is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old student.

Dale Vanwright was fired in June after another student accused him of hugging and kissing them.

KPRC 2’s Corley Peel asked Kerry McCracken, executive director of the Children’s Assessment Center, what parents can do to help protect their children.

Kerry McCracken: 90% of predators are people the child knows, so we always think of danger coming from strangers, but that’s usually not the case.

Corley Peel: What should parents do or say to their children to ensure they recognize that a situation may be bad or dangerous?

McCracken: First, start early and often. Let them know that their body is their body. If they don’t feel comfortable with a hug, it’s okay to say so. If they don’t feel comfortable with the way an adult talks to them, the way that adult touches them, or anything that’s inappropriate, let them know that it’s okay to say no.

Peel: So he (Dale Vanwright) would walk the student home in a situation like that. Even if a parent knows that this is happening, they are walking their child home or they know their child, what advice would he give to parents if their child is alone with an adult?

McCracken: I think it’s best not to be alone. Ideally, if another child could travel with him, that first child, that would be even better. But if the child has to be alone with an adult, make sure that child has you on their speed dial list and can call you as soon as there is a problem. If the trip is short, maybe you can stay in contact the whole way so that the child is not vulnerable.

I think they should look at their phones and a lot of parents are afraid of invading their children’s privacy. But it’s important because these days a lot of predators are contacting their victims through video games, the internet and the phone.

They are counting on this child’s silence, on the fact that he will not have the courage to file a complaint.

How to report crimes against children:

If you believe a child has been abused, assaulted, neglected or otherwise harmed, please report it today to the Texas Abuse and Neglect Hotline or your local law enforcement agency by calling 911. For more information on reporting child abuse: Call the Texas Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-252-5400 or visit txabusehotline.org.