“The simplest thing is to monitor what your child is doing. Shaw says that parents should monitor what their kids do online. Lieutenant Donny Shaw with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office said, “People can enter what their interests are, what their locations are, and it groups you with other people that have the same interests and locations.” This makes it easy for a predator to track down another user. The app also asks to share the user’s location when it’s first downloaded. Users can like and reply to the posts and join group chats. The app is intended for people to post their confessions. Whisper allows people to post anonymous meme-like messages. Police say Guerrero-Beltran used the Whisper app to message the child. Other incidents of child sexual solicitation and assault have also been reported.Many kids and teens are drawn to anonymous messaging apps, and while this can be harmless it can also come with dangers.Ģ9-year-old Kevin Alexander Guerrero-Beltran was arrested in Arab this week for traveling to meet a child for a sex act.

The app has come under scrutiny in the past after a teenager posted a threat against her high school, but was eventually tracked down. Users are issued a random nickname upon joining. ‘Whisper’ is an app that allows users to post and share photos and video messages anonymously. Bryant.Īccording to the Alamogordo Daily News, Balding has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal affairs investigation. He was taken into custody in Lincoln County and has since been released on his own recognizance by District Judge Daniel A. New Mexico State Police was notified by Homeland Security Agents who obtained an arrest warrant for Balding. Court documents even indicate Balding asked the girl he believed to be 15, to ask a friend to join in a threesome. Balding allegedly began texting the decoy sexually explicit conversations and sent photos. HSI Agents say the decoy presented themselves as a 15-year-old girl during the text exchange. A man who identified himself as Balding reportedly responded to the post with “male cop here.” The decoy agent initially posted “guys with uniforms rock” on the ‘Whisper’ app.

RUIDOSO, NM (KTSM) - A Ruidoso Police Officer found himself in handcuffs after a Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) revealed he was allegedly attempting to solicit a teenage girl online.ĭaniel Balding, 35, of Ruidoso, is charged with one count of Child Solicitation by Electronic Communication Device.Īccording to court documents, the Ruidoso Police Officer began communicating with a decoy HSI Agent located in St.

Whisper app arrests