Covington-based App Tracks Sex Offender Communications

Parents have a new app to keep their kids safe, Safe Virtual Neighborhoods, which lets them know when a sex offender tries to contact their children.

St. Charles Sheriff Greg Champagne says all parents need to do is download the app, plug-in their children’s information and they’ll be forwarded any alerts.

“If anyone tries to email, text, or Snapchat through these cell phones or emails, whatever devices, the parent will receive a notification that someone who is a registered sex offender has attempted to contact their child,” says Champagne.

The app was developed by Covington based Offenderwatch.

Champagne says you’ll want a full list of your child’s contact numbers and social media accounts to have proper coverage for the service.

“It is nine bucks a year for a parent to log on, buy the app, and register their kid’s emails, Snapchat, and all of that stuff,” says Champagne.

Champagne says all of this is made possible by Offenderwatch’s extensive collection of information. Offenderwatch has emails, cell numbers, and social media accounts for hundreds of thousands of offenders.

“Within that network, they have all of that data on all of these sex offenders in all of 40 states, some of 50 states, and Canada,” says Champagne.