So I decide to have an evening off from forums and play some Shogun: Total War, and when I come back, I find I've missed a thread like this
Some comments:
Firstly, as always, the threat to children from strangers is exaggerated, an abuser is much more likely to be a close family member/ friend/ trusted adult.
Secondly, there's more older straight guys out there pretending to be young boys (or girls) cruising for young girls than alleged "predatory gays".
Thirdly, as has been pointed out already, there is a definite element of parental responsibility. If your child said "It's 9pm I'm going to the local park to chat to anyone I meet there", any responsible parent would say "no way!", but they seem happy to let kids chat on the net without supervision, not realising it's a gateway to the whole world. They should either keep an eye on them or talk to them about what happens.
Fourthly, being gay doesn't mean you're automatically a paedophile or interested in "seducing" or "corrupting" young boys. Making prejudiced judgements like this says more about the speaker.
Finally: EDUCATE YOUR CHILDREN! I keep saying this and maybe, someday, people will take notice. TELL them about sex, ALL of it, not just the bits that you "approve of", treat them as adults and they're more likely to be behave in an adult way.
If you lie to them or suppress information they need, they'll find out one way or another and their attitude is going to be "well if they don't trust me, why should I bother listening to them?"
Your choice.