BENTON, Mo. -- Pedophilia was around long before computers were invented.
But "the Internet is what brought it to the forefront," said Det. Scott Phelps, investigations coordinator for the Southeast Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.
Before there were online chat rooms, predators had to physically approach children, often in public places, to lure them away from safety. Before digital images could be sent through email or downloaded from websites, child pornography collectors exchanged paper photographs and film reels.