The details of Abigaile Lefevers' Amber Alert case got our team thinking. How do you protect your child from a sexual predator?
NewsChannel 15 sat down with licensed counselor Jane Fortune to talk about ways to keep your kids safe.
Fortune says there are several ways to create an invisible force field around your family and home to make sure your loved ones stay safe.
Fortune admits that that force field starts with open lines of communication.
"Know them, just simply know them," said Fortune.
She says be smart, know your neighbors. You can check to see where registered sex offenders and other predators live in your neighborhood here.
"What do the bad guys look like? There's no specific description," said Fortune.
Fortune looked at the picture of Abigaile Lefevers that we had during the Amber Alert, she said the fact that Abigaile is holding a cellphone to take her picture is a big red flag.
"Taking their cell phones from the get-go and saying, 'I'm checking your cell phone. I'm going to watch it and see what's on the cell phone,'" said Fortune.
She mentions to also be in touch with your children's social network sites.
"Knowing their Facebook password, on their Twitter, what are you putting on there, who are you communicating with," said Fortune.
According to reports, Abigaile's father found texts that Timothy Newman, 38, had sent his daughter.
Fortune says it's never too early to interject into your child's lines of communication.
"The sooner you start doing it," said Fortune, "you're telling them, I'm keeping safe boundaries on you, and you need to learn how to keep safe boundaries on yourself."
