State Police Sgt. Scott Adams observes local Whisper posts on a smartphone.
MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — When a parent of a Marshall County teenager became aware that her child’s 15-year-old friend was allegedly involved in a sexual relationship with a Moundsville police officer earlier this month, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
The alleged relationship between the girl and 26-year-old Benjamin Davis, a Moundsville patrolman, started via a smartphone application. From there, the communication between the two escalated to text messages before Davis reportedly revealed his identity to the girl.
It was then, according to police, that Davis and the girl engaged in sexual acts at his residence. They also allegedly shared nude photographs.
The mother created an account on an app called “Whisper,” the confession- and chat-based application in question. Through the app, she posed as a 17-year-old female John Marshall High School student, and posted a pro-police photo with the phrase “Cops Rule” to entice Davis to contact her. Davis allegedly did, and the mother reported the activity to the authorities. Davis was arrested last week, and faces several charges.
Whisper and other similar apps are marketed on their anonymity. Many of the apps offer a chat function for users to divulge their identity to another member privately. They market themselves on the grounds that content disappears after a short amount of time, which local law enforcement and school officials said improperly makes users believe there are no consequences for their actions.
State Police Sgt. Scott Adams, the lead investigator in the Davis case, said parents should be aware of such apps, and he urges them to check their teens’ tablets and phones for evidence of risky behavior. According to Adams, three apps should be banned from a teen’s phone: Snapchat, Whisper and Poof.
Adams said parents should be responsible for the content of their children’s phones.
“These sites also bring dangerous people into the fold, including current sexual offenders or aspiring sexual offenders, that are in the business of harming children,” Adams said. “I understand a teenager’s right to privacy, but at the same time, I don’t believe you’re doing your job as a parent if you’re not monitoring who your child is talking to.”
Adams also warned of the possible lasting effects of “disappearing” posts and photos, and that promises of anonymity are not guaranteed.
“These sites and apps should simply be completely avoided by teens,” Adams said. “People become more brazen through these outlets, thinking they are instantly invisible afterwards. If you believe you can put something out there and then it’s gone without a trace, you are mistaken.”
In light of the recent case, John Marshall High School Principal Rick Jones is especially interested in educating parents on how today’s teens communicate.
Jones ensures an active web presence for the high school, utilizing sites such as Facebook and Twitter specifically for academic announcements and to interact with students through a medium with which they’re comfortable. Jones said the two social media websites are far less problematic than recent phone apps, due to parents being unaware of the new content.
“Anything that disappears is going to entice people to say or post something they wouldn’t if circumstances were different,” Jones said. “Facebook and Twitter seem more mainstream and kids are careful because they know their parents monitor those sites.”
Although issues with social media posts and apps exist, Jones said the school’s web presence is designed to help parents.
“We constantly put things up on Edline and Twitter to keep in contact with parents,” Jones said. “We don’t have a specific policy regarding these apps, but we call students in for a discussion when we see or hear of something inappropriate being posted.”
Meanwhile, Adams said he practices what he preaches: He prohibits certain apps from his own children’s smartphones.
“They don’t like it when I check their phones, but I do that all the time,” Adams said. “When I see something that concerns me I talk to them about why they have it, and the reasons I’m having them delete it.”
To read more from The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register, subscribe here