Long Island University student arrested in federal child porn case
BROOKVILLE, Long Island (WABC) -- A young man was arrested Thursday morning on a Long Island college campus, accused of trolling Internet gaming sites popular with boys, in a case experts say represents a cautionary tale for parents.
Federal investigators arrested 21-year-old Long Island University senior Robert Garneau, alleging that he communicated with three different underage victims online and had them take and send sexually-explicit photographs.
Officials say he would pose as a girl named Allison Denario and ask the boys for pictures. Then, suddenly, he would pose as Allison's angry boyfriend. He'd claim his father was an FBI agent or police detective and threaten to snitch, unless the boys masturbated or performed other sex acts on camera.
Garneau, who was supposed to graduate from the CW Post campus Friday, was taken into federal custody on child pornography charges.
Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations officials woke him up in his dorm room, and law enforcement officials told ABC News that Garneau went by Raptorr427 or Bobbysixx when he stalked the Internet for underage victims on gaming sites like Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto.
Garneau's also is accused of contacting victims on social media sites like Kik and Instagram. Authorities believe there are more victims.
Federal investigators urge parents to be aware of their children's activity on the internet.
HOW TO STAY SAFE ONLINE
The National Cyber Security Alliance has posted tips on its website that give both parents and kids advice on how to stay safe when gaming online.
Here are the major items:
* Before your kids start playing, be sure your computer has an activated security suite
* Be sure your kids have strong passwords for their gaming accounts. A strong password is a sentence that is at least 12 characters long. Focus on positive sentences or phrases that you like to think about and are easy to remember (for example, "I love country music."). On many sites, you can even use spaces!
* Let your kids know they can come to you if they feel uncomfortable when playing a game
* Checking for a game's Entertainment Rating Software Board's rating - on game packages, online or in some mobile app storefronts - is a great place to start in terms of gauging its age-appropriateness
* Make sure your kid knows how to block and/or report a cyberbully. Tell them to keep a record of the conversation if they are being harassed and encourage them not to engage the bully
