Tristyn Bailey Family, SJSO and Homeland Security host a safety event for cheerleaders

The Tristyn Bailey Family, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office (SJSO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are hosting an online safety presentation for cheerleaders on May 8 at 6 p.m. at the Tocoi Creek High School Auditorium. Members of the Bailey family will be among those present to encourage cheerleaders and their families to continue Tristyn’s legacy by championing education on the dangers of social media.

According to SJSO, HSI special agents will review topics to include tactics used by adult predators online; growing trends of sextortion; information detected from external devices; and apps, online games, and social networks children use.

Scenarios based on local investigations for online child victimization will also be reviewed.

Project iGuardian , HSI’s public awareness campaign, Know2Protect : Together We Can Stop Online Child Exploitation, will be used for the presentation.

According to the HSI website, Project iGuardian, the official in-person educational arm of the Know2Protect campaign, focuses on keeping children and teens safe from online predators through education and awareness.

"The project is an outreach effort to share information about the dangers of online environments, how to stay safe online, and how to report abuse and suspicious activity," they said. "In addition, the iGuardians team is here to help kids stay safe online by providing safety tips, a number to call, and a website with links to more information and resources. Project iGuardian helps kids, teens and parents be smarter about online safety and stay safe from online sexual predators."

According to the Department of Homeland Security , Know2Protect is a national public awareness campaign that educates and empowers children, teens, parents, trusted adults and policymakers to:

• Prevent and combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse .
• Explain how to report online enticement and victimization.
• Offer resources for victims and survivors and their supporters.

Tocoi Creek High School is located at 11200 St. Johns Parkway.

In 2021, Tristyn Bailey was a seventh grade student attending Patriot Oaks Academy in Saint Johns County. On Sunday, May 9, hours after the Bailey family reported her missing, she was found dead in the woods east of the cul-de-sac on Saddlestone Drive. The Charger cheerleader had been stabbed 114 times.

Fourteen-year-old fellow classmate Aiden Fucci, the last person to be seen with Bailey on the night she disappeared, was arrested on a first-degree murder charge in Bailey's death. In March of 2023, Fucci was sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder by Judge. R. Lee Smith in a St. Augustine courtroom.

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Tristyn Bailey Family, SJSO and Homeland Security host a safety event for cheerleaders