Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Theme

Predators Target Vulnerable Teenagers
Every year, sixteen percent of children ages fourteen to seventeen have been sexually victimized, according to David Finkelhor, Director of Crimes Against Children Research Center (Child Sexual Abuse Statistics).
In a true story called “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” and a recent news article, young girls and boys seem to be targeted by much older men, who then abuse them sexually. In both stories, there is a pattern of central themes including the role of parents, vulnerability of teenagers and pre-teens, and the predatory behavior displayed by pedophiles. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” was written in the 1960s. The recent news article about Blake Robert Johnson was released in

“Stop gawking at yourself. Who are you? You think you’re so pretty? Why don’t you keep your room clean like your sister? How’ve you got your hair fixed-- what the hell stinks? Hairspray? You don’t see your sister using that junk (Chopra).” Her mother is always nagging Connie and comparing her to her older sister. This tension between them causes Connie to become untruthful and distant, as they have a troubled relationship. Similarly, her dad does not have much of a relationship with her either. “Their father was away at work most of the time and when he came home he wanted supper and he read the newspaper at supper and after supper he went to bed. He didn’t bother talking much to them…(Chopra).” This lack of Connie’s parents playing positive roles in her life led to her trying to seek attention elsewhere, causing her to become more susceptible to predators. “...but sometimes they went across the highway, ducking fast across the busy road, to a drive-in restaurant where older kids hung out. She and that girl and occasionally another girl went out several times a week, and the rest of the time Connie spent around the house-- it was summer vacation-- getting in her mother’s way and thinking, dreaming about the boys she met (Chopra).” Being a young teenager, Connie is just starting to experience feelings of romance and

He uses apps such as Oovoo, Kik, and Omegle, and targeted girls between ages 12 to 18 who are emotionally vulnerable. Scoping out emotionally vulnerable children was a predatory tactic used by Johnson, because it was easier to manipulate and lie to them. He was described as being “sophisticated at engaging young girls over the internet to engage in illicit sexually explicit conduct (Lumley).” This resulted in young girls eventually being convinced by Johnson to perform in sexual acts and send nude photos. Later, when a young girl went missing, they traced her phone conversations to Johnson, and found her at his home. They begin searching his computer and find over 500 separate folders of information on minors and child pornography. The police conclude that there were 100 girls directly lured and over 500 being targeted. The whole time most of these victim’s parents had no idea that their children were talking to such people over the internet and this shows us that the lack of good parenting and family relationships could result in devastating