Predatory Online Behavior: Modus Operandi of Convicted Sex Offenders in Identifying Potential Victims and Contacting Minors Over the Internet

Sex offenders have used the Internet to identify and contact minors for sexual exploitation (Armagh, 1998; Hernandez, 2000; Lamb, 1998; Lanning, 1998). Yet little is known about how these individuals select their online victims. In order to gain a better understanding of this behavior, the online ac...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of child sexual abuse 2007-07, Vol.16 (2), p.23-32
Main Author: Malesky, L. Alvin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Child
Child Abuse
Child abuse & neglect
Child Abuse, Sexual - prevention & control
Child Sexual Abuse
child sexual exploitation
Child Welfare
Computer Mediated Communication
Crime Victims - psychology
Criminals
Discussion Groups
Female
Humans
Identification
Institutionalized Persons
Internet
Internet predators
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Males
Middle Aged
Online sexual predators
Pedophilia - psychology
Prisoners - psychology
Profiles
Research Design
Safety
Sex crimes
Sex Offenders
Sexual Abuse
Socioeconomic Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Synchronous Communication
Trust
United States
Victims of Crime
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Sex offenders have used the Internet to identify and contact minors for sexual exploitation (Armagh, 1998; Hernandez, 2000; Lamb, 1998; Lanning, 1998). Yet little is known about how these individuals select their online victims. In order to gain a better understanding of this behavior, the online activity of 31 men who perpetrated or attempted to perpetrate contact sex offenses against minors they communicated with via the Internet, was examined. Three-fourths of the participants monitored chat room dialogue and almost one-half reviewed online profiles of minors in an attempt to identify potential victims. Recommendations to increase the online safety of children and adolescents are discussed.
ISSN:1053-8712
1547-0679
DOI:10.1300/J070v16n02_02