Online course focuses on child sex abuse prevention

A Ronkonkoma-based nonprofit on Monday announced that the group has launched a free online course that seeks to teach adults how to detect, report and, hopefully, prevent child sexual abuse.

Enrollees will learn tips on how to prevent a sexual assault from taking place and “tricks” sexual predators employ to gain access to children, said Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan’s Law and The Crime Victims Center.

“We have to move beyond #MeToo and ask ourselves what can we do, and that’s why we’re here today,” Ahearn said at a news conference at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood. “You can become a guardian for children.”

The course, about an hour long, was designed by Ahearn, with Suffolk County taxpayer money, she said.

The online class is available for everyone in New York and around the country free of charge, Ahearn said.

Enrollees must provide their names, home addresses, and emails.