OLYMPIA, Wash. -- We've all heard about the dangers of sex predators online, but a new state patrol task force that goes after these guys brings home the danger in a startling and disturbing way.

What we saw on screen the day we went to watch to see how these stings operate was simply appalling, and one man even set up a meet for sex with someone who he thought was a 13-year-old girl.

"We're just in a Washington-based chat room for Yahoo messenger," said Rachel Edwards, a detective with the Washington State Patrol.

The chat room topic? Romance.

“So this guy's asking for my age, sex and location," said Edwards.

She receives four contacts from guys in about 20 seconds, and the undercover state patrol detective hasn't initiated a thing.

“I told him I’m 13 years old, from Olympia, and he’s asking if I have a picture or a web cam,” said Edwards.

When the detective said ‘no,’ he shared his web cam with us.

It was less than 45 seconds since we’d logged on and he was showing us a sex act, thinking he’s showing it to a 13-year-old, and that was just the beginning.

A new law passed by the legislature earlier this year allows the Missing And Exploited Children Task Force to go online and search out predators.

It's now a felony to communicate with a minor for immoral purposes online.

“It is so dangerous,” said high school counselor Vicki Clark.

Clark is a school counselor who's worked with teenagers for 14 years. She said many teens truly don't understand the dangers and that predators often prey on teen vulnerabilities.

“So here’s this man saying, ‘gosh, you must be so beautiful, and you’re so kind, and I love talking to you,’” said Clark.

“Well, who wouldn’t like to hear that?” she said.

And as we saw with the detective, a new conversation may start innocently enough.

“So I told him I was 13 and he’s going to send me some pictures,” said Detective Edwards.

The detective checks his profile. It says he’s in his 20s and lives in Olympia, but the pictures are x-rated.

The conversation quickly turns to sex.

“He’s asking if I’m into having sex. I’m just going to tell him I haven’t yet,” said Edwards.

“It’s so easy, and it gets so graphic so quickly,” said KIRO 7 Eyewitness News anchor Margo Myers.

“It's definitely a danger and kids have to be aware of what they put out there, but I think these chat rooms are much worse because it's just so easy -- conversations happen instantly," said Edwards.

“He just asked me if I wanted to meet,” said Edwards. “What he really should do is stop talking to me.”

"…But he doesn't," said Myers.

The meet is set at a shopping mall in Olympia, and the next thing this guy knows, less than three hours after the first contact, it’s not a 13-year-old girl, but undercover police officers arresting him. He’s now charged with several crimes.

It turned out that 26-year-old Justin Shrum is a registered sex offender, and detectives can’t say often enough:

“Just a warning – be cautious, be careful what you put out there, and who you talk to,” said Seargent Detective Dan Sharp of the Washington State Patrol.

In the past several months, these stings have resulted in ten arrests.

Detectives told Myers that conversations like this are commonplace, and the language was cleaned up considerably to publish this story.

KIRO is also following up on the suspect, a convicted sex offender, to see what happens with the charges against him.

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Tips For Keeping Your Kids Safe While Online

During the online sting operation by the Missing And Exploited Children Task Force, run out of the Washington State Patrol in Olympia, we were amazed and appalled by how quickly online predators contact kids based on their profiles. And even though our undercover detective pretended to be 13, she had '99 years old' written on her profile, which allowed her access since she was under age 18 years of age to the Yahoo chat rooms. The one on that day was 'Romance.'

People have heard plenty of warnings about MySpace.com, Facebook.com and other similar Web sites, but the chat rooms are instantaneous and dangerous. And in just about every case, the conversation quickly turned sexual and downright graphic. Webcams also popped up, and x-rated pictures were also featured in some of the guy's profiles.

Police detectives KIRO talked to, along with high school counselors offered the following tips on keeping your kids safe while online.

The one thing the counselor and detective advised: do not let your kids go into chat rooms of any kind. You don't know who you're talking to in spite of what they tell you, and it turned out, the one guy who set up a meeting with the detective, and who police eventually arrested, turned out to be a sex offender. Kids believe what they think other kids are telling them, but predators will say whatever they need to, to gain your kid's trust and confidence, including lying about their age.

Monitor the computer used by your kids. Don't let them keep it in their bedroom with the door closed. You won't know if they're up to a dangerous activity. Keep computers in a family room, and ask your children to show you what they're doing. Check the history on the computer so you can see what Web sites your kids are visiting, and if you need to know their password to gain access, get it. As the high school counselor advised parents, the kids live under your roof and may not like giving up a password, but you do need to know what's going on to keep them safe.

If kids are carrying on private conversations, find out why, and why they need to be private.

Also, advise your teen to help monitor their friends and their online use. Often, the counselor says that kids will recognize dangerous behavior in their friends but not see it in themselves. Ask your child to report any suspicious or sexual conversations their friends may be having to a trusted adult before it's too late.

Monitor your child's profile to make sure they aren't giving out too much private information such as where they go to school, what sports they play, where they work, etc. It doesn't take a predator long to piece together facts to actually track down your child if that's their intent.

If your teen does spend a lot of time online, find out what's missing in your kid's life that they need the chat room or online conversation. The teenage years are often a time of transition and changes. Some kids may feel sad, lonely, or overwhelmed. Talk to them and find an activity that you can do together to get them off the computer.