Chuck Stewart, Jr.
Newburgh - Carlie’s Crusade is on a mission to teach kids how to be safe. "We know that if someone is really intent on hurting us they will. But we really feel that if we can teach you how not to be an attractive target, then maybe you won’t be a victim," said Dominick Magistro.
He was speaking to a group of kids attending the BJK Basketball Camp. Asked by Coach Robert McMillian, Dominick Magistro and John Jenerose spoke to the youth and taught them some safety skills.
The duo first explained how the organization, Carlie’s Crusade, began. Named after Carlie Brucia, a 14-year-old Florida girl that was abducted and murdered, the group shares their knowledge of child abduction prevention.
Stating that 2,000 children are reported missing each day, the children perk up to hear more. "We know the statistics," Magistro said. "One in five girls and one in ten boys will be sexually victimized before adulthood." He further shared the profile of a typical sex offender: "He is typically male, engages in a variety of deviant behavior and molests an average of 117 youngsters."
The duo emphasize to the children not to live in fear, but rather to be cautious of their environment, stay focused and alert.
Magistro told the children their best weapon was their own head and ability to avoid certain situations. "Don’t be the last one in the park. Walk in well lit areas. Use the buddy system if you can."
Next they show the children how to react if someone approaches them. "Yell as loud as you can. These people don’t want attention," Jenerose said. Bringing attention to an abductor may be all that is needed to prevent the abduction.
The children line up and begin to practice. They learn this technique works, as it draws the attention of people in the park at a baseball game. One curious man even came for a closer look.
If that doesn’t deter the abductor, the children learned open hand techniques to fend off an abductor while continuing to yell to draw attention to the scene. "We’re not teaching you how to fight. But how to get away [from an abductor]," said Magistro. The children then practiced this technique on dummies.
"We don’t want another child to end up like Carlie," Coach McMillian said. That’s why he continues to invite Carlie’s Crusade to speak at his basketball camp. "BJK Sports wants all our kids to be well rounded and that includes being safe. These guys teach the kids the skills they need to survive an abduction."
