Bill Cosby Explains: ‘How to Protect Your Children From Molesters’

Depraved comic Bill Cosby, currently in court facing charges for committing a monstrous series of drug-aided date rapes over the past 40 years, wrote this now shockingly ironic piece for The National ENQUIRER in September 1985, warning parents how to keep kids out of the clutches of perverts — like him!

"I fear for my children's lives — and every other parent should, too. Make no mistake about it. Evil and sick people are out to harm our youngsters. They want to kidnap them and molest them. And these criminals have got to be stopped!

"I fear for my children's lives — and every other parent should, too. Make no mistake about it. Evil and sick people are out to harm our youngsters. They want to kidnap them and molest them. And these criminals have got to be stopped!

"My wife and I have five beautiful kids, aged 9 through 20 ["The Cosby Show" family pictured] . My family has been the victim of vile letters that have threatened my children. Such letters fill my wife and me full of horror. We've passed these letters to the FBI to investigate. But we also take special precautions to fight crimes against our children — tips you can use with your own family, too.

"I fear for my children's lives — and every other parent should, too. Make no mistake about it. Evil and sick people are out to harm our youngsters. They want to kidnap them and molest them. And these criminals have got to be stopped!

"My wife and I have five beautiful kids, aged 9 through 20 ["The Cosby Show" family pictured] . My family has been the victim of vile letters that have threatened my children. Such letters fill my wife and me full of horror. We've passed these letters to the FBI to investigate. But we also take special precautions to fight crimes against our children — tips you can use with your own family, too.

"Act out little dramas. At my house, I play the part of a villain out to kidnap my younger kids. I approach one of them and say, "Why don't you come with me and see this little puppy I've got!" During our little dramas, I give my children replies they can use to put the stranger off  — like, "My mother is waiting around the corner for me." Other times I play the part of a potential molester trying to lead the child away. I approach one of my kids with a bag of candy, a toy or a doll and ask them to come along on a walk. I teach them to reply immediately, "My father says I'm not supposed to accept anything from anybody I don't know. I don't want your presents — just leave me alone. I'm going right home now!"

"I fear for my children's lives — and every other parent should, too. Make no mistake about it. Evil and sick people are out to harm our youngsters. They want to kidnap them and molest them. And these criminals have got to be stopped!

"My wife and I have five beautiful kids, aged 9 through 20 ["The Cosby Show" family pictured] . My family has been the victim of vile letters that have threatened my children. Such letters fill my wife and me full of horror. We've passed these letters to the FBI to investigate. But we also take special precautions to fight crimes against our children — tips you can use with your own family, too.

"Act out little dramas. At my house, I play the part of a villain out to kidnap my younger kids. I approach one of them and say, "Why don't you come with me and see this little puppy I've got!" During our little dramas, I give my children replies they can use to put the stranger off  — like, "My mother is waiting around the corner for me." Other times I play the part of a potential molester trying to lead the child away. I approach one of my kids with a bag of candy, a toy or a doll and ask them to come along on a walk. I teach them to reply immediately, "My father says I'm not supposed to accept anything from anybody I don't know. I don't want your presents — just leave me alone. I'm going right home now!"

"Use a code system. A favorite trick used by kidnappers is to drive up to a child and say, "Your mother needs you. She told me to pick you up and drive you home." To combat this, we have a special code word that must be used by anyone unfamiliar approaching a member of the Cosby family — or we don't have anything at all to do with them. You can easily develop a code word for your own family. It might be the name of a pet, a favorite food or a nickname that only your family knows about.

"I fear for my children's lives — and every other parent should, too. Make no mistake about it. Evil and sick people are out to harm our youngsters. They want to kidnap them and molest them. And these criminals have got to be stopped!

"My wife and I have five beautiful kids, aged 9 through 20 ["The Cosby Show" family pictured] . My family has been the victim of vile letters that have threatened my children. Such letters fill my wife and me full of horror. We've passed these letters to the FBI to investigate. But we also take special precautions to fight crimes against our children — tips you can use with your own family, too.

"Act out little dramas. At my house, I play the part of a villain out to kidnap my younger kids. I approach one of them and say, "Why don't you come with me and see this little puppy I've got!" During our little dramas, I give my children replies they can use to put the stranger off  — like, "My mother is waiting around the corner for me." Other times I play the part of a potential molester trying to lead the child away. I approach one of my kids with a bag of candy, a toy or a doll and ask them to come along on a walk. I teach them to reply immediately, "My father says I'm not supposed to accept anything from anybody I don't know. I don't want your presents — just leave me alone. I'm going right home now!"

"Use a code system. A favorite trick used by kidnappers is to drive up to a child and say, "Your mother needs you. She told me to pick you up and drive you home." To combat this, we have a special code word that must be used by anyone unfamiliar approaching a member of the Cosby family — or we don't have anything at all to do with them. You can easily develop a code word for your own family. It might be the name of a pet, a favorite food or a nickname that only your family knows about.

"Make your children aware of the dangers from people pushing drugs. I took my children to our local police station. We asked the narcotics officers to show us all the various drugs that are on the street. The policemen put the drugs right out there on the table and let us touch them and smell them. Now if my children are ever offered drugs they will recognize precisely what they are. And the person offering the drugs is dangerous and they must get away from him. Your local police would be only too willing to talk to you and your children about the problems of drug abuse.

"I fear for my children's lives — and every other parent should, too. Make no mistake about it. Evil and sick people are out to harm our youngsters. They want to kidnap them and molest them. And these criminals have got to be stopped!

"My wife and I have five beautiful kids, aged 9 through 20 ["The Cosby Show" family pictured] . My family has been the victim of vile letters that have threatened my children. Such letters fill my wife and me full of horror. We've passed these letters to the FBI to investigate. But we also take special precautions to fight crimes against our children — tips you can use with your own family, too.

"Act out little dramas. At my house, I play the part of a villain out to kidnap my younger kids. I approach one of them and say, "Why don't you come with me and see this little puppy I've got!" During our little dramas, I give my children replies they can use to put the stranger off  — like, "My mother is waiting around the corner for me." Other times I play the part of a potential molester trying to lead the child away. I approach one of my kids with a bag of candy, a toy or a doll and ask them to come along on a walk. I teach them to reply immediately, "My father says I'm not supposed to accept anything from anybody I don't know. I don't want your presents — just leave me alone. I'm going right home now!"

"Use a code system. A favorite trick used by kidnappers is to drive up to a child and say, "Your mother needs you. She told me to pick you up and drive you home." To combat this, we have a special code word that must be used by anyone unfamiliar approaching a member of the Cosby family — or we don't have anything at all to do with them. You can easily develop a code word for your own family. It might be the name of a pet, a favorite food or a nickname that only your family knows about.

"Make your children aware of the dangers from people pushing drugs. I took my children to our local police station. We asked the narcotics officers to show us all the various drugs that are on the street. The policemen put the drugs right out there on the table and let us touch them and smell them. Now if my children are ever offered drugs they will recognize precisely what they are. And the person offering the drugs is dangerous and they must get away from him. Your local police would be only too willing to talk to you and your children about the problems of drug abuse.

"Make some special family rules. In the Cosby house, we have other special rules that my kids follow: 1. We come straight home from school. 2. We do not change our route, but use the regular route where people know us and where we can easily recognize strangers. 3. We can visit a friend's house only when we give his name, address and telephone number first to our parents. 4. We do not talk to unfamiliar people who don't know the family code word unless our parents are present. 5. We do not get into a stranger's car, no matter what reason or plea the stranger might come up with. 6. We do not accept gifts or candy from anyone we don't know. 7. Whenever we go out of the house we always tell our parents where we are going and what time we'll be back.

"I fear for my children's lives — and every other parent should, too. Make no mistake about it. Evil and sick people are out to harm our youngsters. They want to kidnap them and molest them. And these criminals have got to be stopped!

"My wife and I have five beautiful kids, aged 9 through 20 ["The Cosby Show" family pictured] . My family has been the victim of vile letters that have threatened my children. Such letters fill my wife and me full of horror. We've passed these letters to the FBI to investigate. But we also take special precautions to fight crimes against our children — tips you can use with your own family, too.

"Act out little dramas. At my house, I play the part of a villain out to kidnap my younger kids. I approach one of them and say, "Why don't you come with me and see this little puppy I've got!" During our little dramas, I give my children replies they can use to put the stranger off  — like, "My mother is waiting around the corner for me." Other times I play the part of a potential molester trying to lead the child away. I approach one of my kids with a bag of candy, a toy or a doll and ask them to come along on a walk. I teach them to reply immediately, "My father says I'm not supposed to accept anything from anybody I don't know. I don't want your presents — just leave me alone. I'm going right home now!"

"Use a code system. A favorite trick used by kidnappers is to drive up to a child and say, "Your mother needs you. She told me to pick you up and drive you home." To combat this, we have a special code word that must be used by anyone unfamiliar approaching a member of the Cosby family — or we don't have anything at all to do with them. You can easily develop a code word for your own family. It might be the name of a pet, a favorite food or a nickname that only your family knows about.

"Make your children aware of the dangers from people pushing drugs. I took my children to our local police station. We asked the narcotics officers to show us all the various drugs that are on the street. The policemen put the drugs right out there on the table and let us touch them and smell them. Now if my children are ever offered drugs they will recognize precisely what they are. And the person offering the drugs is dangerous and they must get away from him. Your local police would be only too willing to talk to you and your children about the problems of drug abuse.

"Make some special family rules. In the Cosby house, we have other special rules that my kids follow: 1. We come straight home from school. 2. We do not change our route, but use the regular route where people know us and where we can easily recognize strangers. 3. We can visit a friend's house only when we give his name, address and telephone number first to our parents. 4. We do not talk to unfamiliar people who don't know the family code word unless our parents are present. 5. We do not get into a stranger's car, no matter what reason or plea the stranger might come up with. 6. We do not accept gifts or candy from anyone we don't know. 7. Whenever we go out of the house we always tell our parents where we are going and what time we'll be back.

"These messages have got to be hammered home to children from the earliest possible age, in clear and precise terms your children can understand. And it's a message that cannot be given too often. It's the little things that count. I've always treated important subjects with humor in an effort to draw attention to them. But I can't find any humor in kidnapping or in sexual or physical abuse of children. I cry when I hear about such cases. We must do whatever we can to protect and defend our children — and that protection starts in our own homes, with you and me!"