A Connecticut case reminds us how treacherous “chat rooms” can become.

Those who are inclined to laugh off warnings about the dangers of Internet trash and exploitation should be a bit more sober about now. Another shocking tragedy from the Internet has come to light.

A 13-year-old girl in Connecticut has been killed after an Internet encounter. Word is, she used provocative screen names and routinely had sex with partners she met in chat rooms. The girl ultimately was strangled by a married restaurant worker she met on the Internet. An undocumented immigrant from Brazil confessed to the killing.

The girl reportedly was a good student with many good qualities. But she apparently had a “tougher side,” police point out. That led to her needless death as a result of sleazy communications made too easy via computerization.

Americans who are even remotely acquainted with online chat rooms and some of the terrible exchanges that take place there say they are not surprised about the Connecticut tragedy. Many see troubling and disgusting contacts being made every day, and there is no indication whether those involved are children or adults.

The chat room phenomenon has an “unsigned letter” element to it that allows anonymous individuals to say and promise anything. Then when they make contacts that seem to fit their schemes, they manage to find ways to get in personal touch, as clearly happened with the 13-year-old.

The father of the dead girl said he had no idea of what she was doing but said, “I would give anything to take that computer back.”

“There was some pretty graphic stuff,” said a police officer in the case. One can find such material with little trouble.

Adults who allow inventive youngsters free rein on computers would do well to see what they can do to monitor their activities. How horrible is it that a child working a computer can set up a death scenario without even leaving his or her room.

The Net can be deadly and, sadly, the case of the girl in Connecticut is not the first of its kind nor will it be the last. A Pandora’s box of pests and temptations has been unleashed, and many of those demons that escaped will never be recalled.