A recent study of more than 1,500 teens, shows 15% of them had been sexually harassed while online within the past year. Now, many of those cases are moving to cell phones. Both are helpful technology that can also be dangerous for our innocent.

Less than 10 years ago, many kids did not know what the internet was, or how to use a cell phone.

With today's technology, nearly every child and teen use both forms of communication on a weekly basis.

One in five of those children are solicited sexually while on the internet.

Parents beware. Attorney General Jon Bruning says the solicitation does not stop there.

"These kids have cell phones. What the predators do, is they meet them online, then they move it over to a cell phone conversation. Text messaging, if you have a kid that age, you know all they do is text message, and I think it's important for parents to take a look at that phone, and know who your child is text messaging, and what they're saying," said Bruning.

76% of offenders convicted of internet-related crimes against children, also admitted to sexually assaulting children.

That is why advocates against child abuse say it is important to supervise online and phone activity.

"Parents shouldn't be afraid to parent. Put that computer in a public room where you can see it. Make sure you know your child's password, so you can look at the sent messages and see who they're talking to, just as if you'd want to know who they're socializing with if they said they were going to go down the street and hang out at a friends house," said Bruning.

Nearly 70% of child sex offenders have between one and nine victims.

At least 20% have 10 to 40 victims.

An average serial child molester may have as many as 400 victims in his lifetime.

"Kids don't realize when they put something online, its there forever. That's one of the latest problems were seeing as well, is kids think it's funny to send psudo-pornographic pictures of themselves with their shirt off, or otherwise, and those pictures wont stay hidden in cyberspace, they're there forever. Parents need to warn their kids that decisions they make at age 13, 14 and 15, they will have to live with those decisions for a long time," said Bruning.

To help with the fight, the Nebraska legislature is looking into the Child Protection Bill.

LB 97 would prevent convicted sex offenders from going to social networking sites.

"I feel good about its chances for passage. The court is already doing that in some cases, making it a condition for a convicted sex offender," said Bruning.

"There's software we can put on sex offenders computers to make sure they don't go to those sites, and if they do, we're going to put them back in jail after they've served their term."

As it stands now, every six months, Bruning receives a list from MySpace and Facebook of Nebraska convicted sex offenders using the sites.

In 2007, Bruning's office deleted 247 profiles from MySpace.

Nationally, 29,000 offenders were deleted.

"When I became Attorney General, and my first year here in 2003, online enticement was not a crime. So, that, was one of the first bills we presented to the legislature in 2003, but imagine how in 6 short years, how it has changed. Now, online enticement is pretty much the only way that enticement occurs. It's pretty rare that somebody drives around the block of a school with candy. Now days, it happens online," said Bruning.

Online does not have to be out-of-mind, with supervision and support from parents protecting their innocent.

For more information on the 10 tips for prevention, and links to many of the Nebraska organizations helping in the fight against child abuse, click on the web addresses below.