Advocate hopes for Somer's safe return

TAMPA - When Judy Cornett hears the words "missing child" on the news, she takes it personally.

"In 1992, my son was taken by a sexual predator in Town 'n Country, along with his best friend," she said.

Her son Jason was abducted, brutally raped and left for dead when he was only 11 years old. He survived the ordeal, but neither Jason nor his mother has let go.

News of Somer Thompson's disappearance hits close to home, and so does word that investigators interviewed about 75 known sex offenders in the area.

Cornett is a local advocate and the founder of Safety Zone Advocacy, a group that pushes for more accountability for sexual offenders.

"If we had this kind of education in place back then, these children might have had a chance," she said.

She works with local law enforcement, parents, and children -- talking to them and teaching them about staying safe from sexual predators.

"Those predators know how to get around the buddy system. They learn as we learn," she added. "As soon as we come up with something new, they come up with something new."

She believes parents need to talk with their children, rotate supervising the kids at bus stops, and above all else, spend as much time as possible with their children.

"A lot of parents want to drop their kids off at the baseball field and be on their way, but there's a predator out there watching," she said.

As part of her latest project, Predator Patrol, she even goes as far as to hit the streets, patrolling parks with cops late at night looking for predators with outstanding warrants.

"Everybody wants to think -- and I'm guilty -- it's never going to happen to my kid. I'm a good parent," she said. "I know where my kid is all the time my kid is never going to talk to a stranger or run off, but it happens."

Cornett and her son still struggle, even 18 years later.

"We battle the demons every day," she said.

She knows she can't stop every predator or prevent every abduction, but just one win could mean saving a life.

For more information about the Safety Zone Advocacy & Predator Patrol, click on over to www.safetyzoneadvocacy.org .