Parents Worry Popular New Song Promotes Child Chat Line

By Adrianna Iwasinski, NEWS 9

CACHE, Oklahoma -- A mother from Cache has a warning for parents about a popular new song. Traci Hall said the song "Almost Love" by Jessica Jarrell promotes a phone number to a sometimes scandalous child chat line as well as the website SayNow.com.

"I wasn't aware of the song, I wasn't aware of the number, and now I think other parents need to know about it," Hall said.

Hall is warning other parents about a chat line she accidentally stumbled upon when checking her 12-year-old stepdaughter's cell phone.

"Her phone went off, I looked at it, saw one word that I didn't like, and so I started digging deeper into my daughter's cell phone," Hall said.

The chat line links kids to messages from their favorite teen heart-throb, as well as to live chat rooms with other callers.

"It's young children that are online, some are perverted, some are not," Hall said. "They are exchanging numbers. They are exchanging pictures as well."

Hall said she was alarmed and disturbed to discover kids were sharing both personal and sexual information.

"There's several young children on there wanting to talk to sexy, young, hot guys or girls; pervertedness, wanting someone to make them feel better, talk dirty to them, send dirty pictures," Hall said.

Hall said she worries child predators may also be lurking on the chat line. She said she was propositioned by someone on her daughter's phone.

"The guy thought I was 12-years-old and asked me to send a nude picture of myself," Hall said.

Hall contacted her local police department about the video and the chat line, and she said she also alerted other parents and friends to what was going on.

Alisha York said she knew about the song but not the chat line.

"It's a little innocent song that is drawing kids in, and it's scary," York said. "I want to get the word out about it as well. I've talked to other friends, she didn't know it either."

Special Agent Steve Tanner with the state's Internet Crimes Against Children Unit said that's exactly what parents need to be doing to protect their children from themselves and from child predators.

"(Child Predators) know about these chat lines, they know about these phone numbers to call. What better place to find children?" Tanner said.

Hall has not only met with other parents and children, but they plan to go to the schools in Cache to make others aware.