Experts Offer Safety Tips For Tips For Parents After Police Say Dwayne Gordon Drugged, Raped Teen Girls During Slumber Parties At His Home
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police are looking for a Queens man alleged to have raped several young girls at his home, and they fear there may be other victims.
We're sharing his picture and more information with you because police say they want to find him.
They're looking for 41-year-old Dwayne Gordon. They say he has a Jamaican accent and is about 5'10".
Gordon is alleged to have raped three 13-year-old girls between October of 2020 and May of 2021 at his home in the Springfield Gardens section of Queens, and police say there could be more victims.
Sources say the girls were at the home for sleepovers with his daughter. They believe he drugged them.
Anyone who has information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477 or for Spanish, 1-888-577-4782. Tips can also be sent to the NYPDTips Twitter account or submitted online at NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.
We don't have any other details, but CBS2's Alice Gainer spoke with experts about tips for parents in general for whenever their child spends time at someone else's home.
"Ninety nine point nine nine percent of the time, you can send your daughters and sons off to sleepovers and feel very safe," said Dr. Jodi Gold, an adult and pediatric psychologist.
Gold stresses we don't know everything about the Queens case, and that these are just general suggestions for parents.
"Before your child ever has a sleepover, whether they are 12 or whether they're 17, you should have a conversation with the parents," Gold said.
Parenting expert Julie Ross agrees.
"I'm always surprised at the number of parents that don't call the other parent," Ross said.
Both Ross and Gold have this suggestion.
"Parents should have a text code with their children," Ross said.
"You're uncomfortable, no questions asked, and they're coming to get you," Gold said.
Gold is also a fan of the "late-over."
"Where you don't let the kid spend the night. You sort of go and pick them up at 11 or 12 o'clock, and many parents especially of younger teens will say there's no reason for the sleepover," Gold said.
Ross says this is one mistake parents make.
"Their child is too young to know about pedophiles and that's really not the case," Ross said.
Not everything is preventable, but making sure you talk to your kids can help.