Online Child Predators

Have you ever walked into Wal-Mart and taken the time to look at the numerous pictures of missing youth that is plastered on the wall? When looking at how long they have been missing, it ranges anywhere from months to years. Looking at their age, both boys and girls, it is hard not to wonder if these kids are being trafficked. Child sex trafficking, also known as human trafficking, is a major issue that is not only plaguing the United States, but the world. Residing in a state where teen sex trafficking is very common, it is imperative that not only adults, but the youth understand what child sex/human trafficking is, what is a sex-trafficker, and the data that reveals the seriousness of child sex

“According to a recent study, rapist and child molesters are arrested once for every 30 offenses they commit” (Leo, 2). Scary thought for the human race, especially for parents with children under 18. How is a sexual predator defined? Once this has been identified then the need to examine why internet relationships are developed. What are the different characteristics of offenders and victims? Lastly, how do we protect our children from sexual predators and who has jurisdiction over the offenders? What steps, if any, should the government take to protect

Of the many problems faced by children and adolescents, few provoke such moral outrage as childhood sexual abuse. Many times, as on the television show “To Catch a Predator”, such abuse can be inflicted by strangers who may gradually become familiar with the child online. Sadly, however, often times the perpetrator of sexual abuse on children is someone much more familiar to the child- someone the child may even love.

Child sex abusers find the internet or mobile phones a convenient place to participate in a range of child sexual

Pedophiles: are those that develop a sexual interest over a long period of time. Commit their crimes for a variety of reasons and go on committing their crimes with little hopes of rehabilitation. The internet serves purpose to many pedophiles today, allowing them to commit a crime and computer crime.

Monitoring a juvenile’s social media that has engaged in raping could benefit society and future possible victims of the juvenile, but it could also help identify the best treatment for the offender.

With the creation of computers and Internet, high-tech crimes are occurring more frequently than few decades ago. According to a report made by the U.S. Department of Justice; “one in five children (10 to 17 years old) receives unwanted sexual solicitations online” (Knetzger & Muraski, 2008). One of this online sex-crime against children is known as child enticement. The Florida statute 847.0135 states that an individual is involved in online child enticement when “[…] utilizes a computer on-line service, Internet service, or […] to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice, or attempt to […] a child or another person believed by a person to be a child to commit any illegal act […] relating to sexual battery […]” (Knetzger & Muraski, 2008). Therefore, online sex-crime investigators must use the appropriate protocols during an investigation to avoid a lawful criminal defense based on law enforcement entrapment.

In the state of Indiana, there are specific regulations that prohibit activities that are predatory against children. This is taking place under Section IC 35-42-4 of the criminal code. The different provisions of the law that deal with these issues include: rape, criminal deviant conduct, child molestation, the exploitation of a minor, sexual conduct in the presence of a juvenile, solicitation, seduction, sexual battery, sexual misconduct with a minor, inappropriate communication, using the Internet to target children and it is providing guidelines for the registration of convicted sex offenders. These different elements are demonstrating how the state has strict guidelines that are designed to protect children. (Hall, 2012) (Scheb, 2008)

The issue of sex offenses being committed using social media sites, such as Facebook, is a growing issue in today’s society. This research is designed to determine whether an average Facebook user believes the social media site is used as an avenue for committing sex offenses. In order to conduct the research analysis there will be a Qualtrics survey given to 113 social media users in the Treasure Valley. The survey questions will be based on previous research that has shown demonstrating chances of a sexual predator committing a sexual offense while using Facebook. The results from the survey will be compared to the literature research to understand if an average Facebook users participated in the survey have the potential to conduct acts similar to an online sexual predator. This is based on analysis from the ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) task force stating some sex offenders use the privacy and anonymity of the internet to prey on children and teenagers that have unsupervised access to the internet (Hagan, 2010). Present research also focuses on sexual and cyber behavior to understand the psychology behind using manipulation and other tactics to lure underage victims into meeting in person. The importance of the research is to determine whether there is a relationship between the use of Facebook and committing sex offenses. Literature on social media fantasy is used to analyze how different personas are created, and an altered reality is lived by the

Who are these kids? These juvenile sex offenders are not of a specific age or gender. It is happening in many households without the parents even knowing about it. Just like it happens when children are molested by a relative they also don’t report it because they are afraid or many times don’t even know that what they are doing to them is wrong. Again this shows that we as parents may be failing in the way we are raising our kids or interacting with them, as children should not feel that what’s happening to them is their fault and should feel safe enough to report it to their parents, or authorities. An estimated 90 percent of all child sexual abuse incidents involve people known to the young victims, and 60 percent of that number is mainly

     Cohen, Seghorn, and Calmas (1969) described three types of child molesters derived from their clinical studies. One type had a history of relatively normal functioning and the incident of molestation appears to reflect a reaction to a severe threat to their sense of sexual adequacy. Another type had a history of poor social-sexual functioning and is regarded as primitive and immature in terms of social-sexual skills. The last type they found in their study had offenses involving cruel and vicious assaults on children and the act of molestation is regarded as more aggressive then sexual. (Mc Creary, 1975)

Perpetrators of sex crimes committed against children often start by gaining the trust of potential victims and the adults in their lives’ by using a tactic called “grooming.” The purpose of this memo is to give the court a baseline understanding of what sex offender victim grooming is, its purpose, and techniques. Because of the extensive amount of research and information on this topic, this paper does not detail all of the grooming techniques used by child sex offenders to groom potential victims.

The law defines predator as "someone who has been convicted of or charged with a crime of sexual violence and who suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder which makes the person likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence." Sexual predators. (1993)

themselves. The dangers sexual predators pose can be shown in the tactics they use and the

Perpetrators of child sexual abuse gain the trust of potential victims through special attention, being understanding and sympathetic, or through offers of money or gifts. This in turn makes the child feel important, special, and loved. The following are the 6 stages of grooming, as explained by Dr. Michael Welner, Forensic Psychiatrist: