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[Back to Newsletter E17] [Back to Scientific Articles] Online Sex Abuse Cases Not Characterized by Deception, Abduction and Force, Research ShowsFindings From National Sample of Law Enforcement
Agencies Indicates That
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Most offenders did not deceive victims about the fact that they were adults interested in sexual relationships |
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The victims, primarily teens aged 13 to 15, met and had sex with the adults on more than one occasion |
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Half of the victims were described as being in love with or feeling close bonds with the offenders |
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Few offenders abducted or used force to sexually abuse their victims. |
These findings suggest the need for parents, educators
and the media to
revise their approaches to preventing Internet sex
crimes, according to the
authors of the research, Janis Wolak, M.A., J.D.,
David Finkelhor, Ph.D.,
and Kimberly Mitchell, Ph.D., of the Crimes against
Children Research
Center at the University of New Hampshire. Dr.
Mitchell will present their
findings at the 112th Annual Convention of the
American Psychological
Association (APA) in Honolulu.
The researchers surveyed local, state and federal law
enforcement
investigators from 2,574 law enforcement agencies
between 2001 and 2002, to
identify sexual offenses against juvenile victims that
originated with an
online encounter and ended with the arrest of an
offender.
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that despite the stereotypes of Internet
sex crimes against
minors, offenders targeted adolescents, not younger
children | ||||||
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Only 5% of offenders tried to deceive victims about being older adults. | ||||||
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Only 21% lied about their sexual motives, and most of these deceptions involved insincere promises of love and romance. | ||||||
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Few offenders used
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The research also suggests that it may be misleading to categorize offenders in such cases as strangers, because victims and offenders had typically communicated, both online and by telephone, for more than one month prior to meeting in person. |
According to the authors, the study has several implications for prevention. Rather than emphasize the dangers of deception,
“the data suggests that a major challenge for prevention is the population of young teens who are willing to enter into voluntary sexual relationships with
adults whom they meet online. This is a reality that people may be reluctant to confront, but effective prevention requires public and private acknowledgment of what actually happens in these cases,” according to the researchers.
They add that teenagers may benefit from
being told directly
about why such relationships are a bad idea and made
to understand that
adults who care about their well-being would not
propose sexual
relationships or involve them in risky encounters.
The authors also urge prevention efforts to focus
special attention on the
most vulnerable populations for Internet-initiated sex
crimes against
minors. These include
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adolescents who have poor relationships with their parents, |
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those who are lonely or |
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depressed, or |
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gay teenagers or |
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those
questioning their sexual orientation who turn to
others on the Internet for |
The authors also recommend training for law enforcement since some of the targeted youth may not initially see themselves as victims and may require sensitive interviewing in order to cooperate with investigators.
The research was funded jointly by the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children and the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and will be published online in the November issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.
[Back to Newsletter E17] [Back to Scientific Articles]
