ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Lessons To Learn From the Lindsay Lavoie Kidnapping Case

Updated on March 2, 2013
GarnetBird profile image

Gloria taught for many years, and also worked as a mental health group facilitator.

By Gloria Siess {"Garnetbird"}

Lindsay was stalked and kidnapped by a man she met on the internet.
Lindsay was stalked and kidnapped by a man she met on the internet.

By Gloria Siess {"Garnetbird"}

In 2002 Lindsay Lavoie met an internet predator who called himself "Kon." She was barely into her teens and he was 35. After exchanging messages and emails, Lindsay became convinced that Kon loved her, and was a powerful and trustworthy friend. Her family reacted very appropriately. They counseled her, they warned her as to the dangers of meeting men online. They ordered her to stop emailing him. When that failed to discourage her, Mrs. Lavoie took the computer key board with her to work, in order to protect Lindsay from communicating with "Kon."

The true horror of this true story is yet to follow. Mrs. Lavoie was not a lax parent; she did everything right and yet, things went horribly wrong. She even contacted law enforcement authories and was told there was nothing they could do to keep "Kon" from contacting her daughter. One sad afternoon when Lindsay was home alone with an illness that kept her out of school, her Mother went on to her place of employment. When she returned Lindsay was gone. "Kon", a German Citizen, had bided his time and made his move.

Kon had access to her address and had flown into the United States with the express purpose of abducting Lindsay into a Child Pornography Ring. After five months of sadistic sexual hell and neglect, Lindsay was rescued in Greece. She was in tatters and exhausted; "Kon" had dyed her blonde hair vivid black. He had made her sleep on the floor where he filmed their sexual encounters. He also administered drugs to Lindsay to render her submissive. A huge internet Child Porn Ring was discovered, with contacts all over the world.

The message of this story, in this writer's opinion, is that Mrs. Lavoie did everything she possibly could at the time to reasonably protect her daughter., but it still did not prevent disaster. Since "Kon" had access to their phone number and address, he only had to wait and lurk, like the predator he was-and pounce when Lindsay was home alone. He had contacts in the states where Lindsay was hidden, and given false documents, including a passport. By the time they landed in Greece Lindsay was "brainwashed" into the fatal "learned helplessness" that is so often the hallmark of extreme abuse.

Lindsay will have life long problems stemming from her hideous ordeal. The moral that we all can learn is never, ever drop your guard. Never underestimate the relentless online predator and his or her resources. Never assume that these monsters will give up easily when confronted--they have been known to actually move into the neighborhood where their "prey" lives and simply wait and watch. For his hideous acts, "Kon" was sentenced to eight years in a Greek Prison, with probable time off for good behavior.

Our children have to be shrewdly, diligently watched and protected. Never let your children have access to websites that you do not have the password for. Put the computer in the main family room where kids will be less likely to enter risky sites. If you suspect a predator is following your child online, assume they will follow it up with a visit and be prepared. Teach your kids to NEVER give out their phone number, or address to persons they meet online. If your child is posting a photo of his or herself into a social networking site, raise a holy ruckus. Make them use a cartoon drawing or a photo of a pet as a mascot. Predators surf the web to look at beautiful children. Do not make their lives easier by letting them look at your child for the asking. Seeing can lead to wanting, and wanting can easily lead to tragedy.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)