Most Internet Sex Crimes Committed by Young Adults, Study Says
By Joan Oleck -- School Library Journal, 2/27/2008 4:00:00 AM
If you think an "Internet sex offender" is a pedophile who poses as a youth to lure his victim, think again. And if you also think that social networking sites are a staple of such crimes, turn your attention to a new University of New Hampshire (UNH) study that debunks these stereotypes.
Instead, most online offenders are relatively young adults who seduce their victims into sexual relationships by taking the time to develop their victims' trust and confidence. The victims end up considering these online "relationships" as romantic or sexual adventures, says the study sponsored by UNH's Crimes against Children Research Center.
"Internet sex crimes involving adults and juveniles more often fit a model of statutory rape—adult offenders who meet, develop relationships with, and openly seduce underage teenagers—than a model of forcible sexual assault or pedophilic child molesting," the study says. "This is a serious problem, but one that requires approaches different from those in current prevention messages emphasizing parental control and the dangers of divulging personal information."
The findings, published in the February/March issue of the journal American Psychologist, are based on the revelations of some 3,000 Internet users, ages 10 to 17, who were interviewed by telephone in 2000 and 2005 as part of a federal grant to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Some 612 federal, state, and local law enforcement officials also were surveyed.
"Online Predators and Their Victims: Myths, Realities and Implications for Prevention" offers conclusions that may be of particular interest to librarians. Despite the oft-cited concerns, adolescent use of MySpace, Facebook, and other social networking sites is not a major factor in how online predators operate, the UNH researchers say. Instead, online interactions such as talking online about sex to strangers increase vulnerability.
"Most Internet-initiated sex crimes involve adult men who are open about their interest in sex," says Janis Wolak, lead author of the study. "The offenders use instant messages, email, and chat rooms to meet and develop intimate relationships with their victims. In most of the cases, the victims are aware that they are talking online with adults."
Parents, educators, and other caring adults should direct their efforts toward helping teens appreciate the inappropriateness of romance with adults, Wolak says. Frank discussions of the dynamics of Internet-initiated sex crimes is key—especially considering that many of the victims have poor relationships with their parents.
Among the study's findings: Offenders pretended to be teenagers in only 5 percent of the crimes the researchers studied. Nearly 75 percent of victims who met offenders face-to-face did so more than once. Youth who engaged in four or more risky online behaviors—such as allowing strangers to join their buddy lists and discussing sex online with people they did not know--were much more likely to report receiving online sexual solicitations.
Further, boys who are gay or are questioning their sexuality may be more susceptible to Internet sex crimes than other populations, the researchers say. These boys were found to be victims in nearly one-quarter of criminal cases studied.
