A North American group dedicated to stamping out child molestation has expanded its operations to the Island.

The group, called Kid-Safe Network, is active in both Canada and the United States.

It holds free information workshops for parents and children to make them aware of common techniques that paedophiles use and how to keep children safe.

Bob Smith, the chief instructor of the Traditional Academy of Martial Arts (TAMA) and the head bailiff at Magistrates? Court, was recently appointed Bermuda?s agent for the network.

?In this capacity, I will be offering free child safety and danger awareness seminars to educate parents, educators and children about the dangers facing our youngsters today,? he said.

Qualified agents are over 21-years-old, with a clean criminal record, a sound mind and a willingness to complete 20 to 30 hours of home study. ?I am a member of the National Association of Martial Artists and they recommended the network to me,? said Mr. Smith.

?They sent me a lot of information and I had to take an extensive exam. I did fine on it and they sent me the rest of the materials I needed about awareness and how to identify threats.?

According to Kid-Safe: ?(Their) agents are trained to recognise lures used by predators, to be familiar with the top defensive countermeasures to avoid danger, know the signs of molestation and abuse, and much more.?

The group?s website also offers a list of all the US states that publicise a sex offenders list.

Mr. Smith said having such a list in Bermuda would be a legal issue, adding: ?Maybe this is something that will spark interest in such a list.?

The website also keeps up-to-date Amber Alert information. An Amber Alert is implemented in the US when a child has been abducted. Although child abduction is not a problem in Bermuda, Mr. Smith said it is important to know how predators target children.

?It?s something that we need to think about because Bermudians travel all the time, so there are a lot of tips that we can learn,? he said.

The first free seminar to be held will be directed at parents.

The seminar will teach parents about the dangers that children face every day and it will help educate them about the different lures that predators use to attract children.

?I was shocked as to how sophisticated predators are and these paedophiles even have their own network and ways that they will use to attract children,? Mr. Smith said.

The first seminar will be held on May 29 at 12.30 p.m. at TAMA, located on Joells Alley off Church Street.

Later seminars will be directed at children, while parents will be invited to observe.

Children will learn how to be ?assertive? and ?confident? and how to assess certain situations so as not to become a victim, Mr. Smith said.

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