Internet and Sexual Offenders
Back in model five it was discussed that technology has increased the numbers of sexually based crimes. Producers of child pornography is statically more likely to be someone the child knows, who has complete and legitimate access to the child. Technology has also led to more sexual grooming. Research into online sexual grooming has largely been focused on the stages of grooming, typologies of offenders, or comparisons with people who download abusive sexual images of children. Extraordinarily little attention has been paid to internet affordance and the role these might play in the offending behavior, the development of expertise, and the avoidance of detection. There was a qualitative study done on 14 convicted men, those convicted of online grooming. Analysis indicated that the internet served to create a private space to engage in purposive, sexual behavior with young people. The internet aided in the fantasy, and for some was precursor to an offline sexual assault. Grooming is the process by which an individual prepares a child and their environment of sexual abuse to take place, including gaining access to the child, creating compliance and trust, and ensuring secrecy to avoid detection. (Craven, Brown, and Gilchrist, 2006). Sexual grooming pre-dates the internet, Lanning (2001) described grooming activities in relation to the internet, individuals attempted to sexually exploit children by seducing their targets with attention, affection, kindness, and gifts. Between 2000 and 2006 showed a 21 percent increase in online predators.
Are online sexual offenders different than other sexual offenders? There are studies how argued that online sexual offending is simply what happens when conventional sexual offenders have access child pornography through mail-order services or through personal trades now access large volumes of child pornography online. Similarly, those who might have approached children in public such as malls, are now contacting children through social network sites, messaging, and other technologies. However, there is a counter study that states that the internet has created a different type of sexual offender. Specifically, the anonymity of the internet, accessibility of child pornography; and greater opportunities to trade child porn, contact potential victims, and engage in conspiracies to commit sexual offenses have facilitated illegal sexual behavior.
Quayle, Ethel, Allegro, Silvia, Hutton, Linda, Sheath, Michael, & Lööf, Lars. (2014). Rapid skill acquisition and online sexual grooming of children. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 368–375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.07.005
Seto, Michael C, & Karl Hanson, R. (2011). Introduction to Special Issue on Internet-Facilitated Sexual Offending. Sexual Abuse, 23(1), 3–6. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063211399295