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Internet Crimes Against Children - US
Department of Justice Report
Summary of this
article
Unique Characteristics of Cybercrimes
Several characteristics distinguish Internet crimes from other crimes
committed against children:
Physical contact between the child and the perpetrator does not
need to occur for a child to become a victim or for a crime to be
committed. Innocent pictures or images of children can be digitally
transformed into pornographic material and distributed across the
Internet without the victims’ knowledge.
The Internet provides a source for repeated, long-term victimization
of a child that can last for years, often without the victim’s
knowledge. Once a child’s picture is displayed on the Internet,
it can remain there forever. Images can stay on the Internet indefinitely
without damage to the quality of the image.
These crimes transcend jurisdictional boundaries, often involving
multiple victims from different communities, states, and countries.
The geographic location of a child is not a primary concern for
perpetrators who target victims over the Internet. Often, perpetrators
travel hundreds of miles to different states and countries to engage
in sexual acts with children they met over the Internet. Many of
these cases involve local, state, federal, and international law
enforcement entities in multiple jurisdictions.
Many victims of Internet crimes do not disclose their victimization
or even realize that they have been victims of a crime. Whereas
children who experience physical or sexual abuse may disclose the
abuse to a friend, teacher, or parent, many victims of Internet
crimes remain anonymous until pictures or images are discovered
by law enforcement during an investigation. The presumed anonymity
of Internet activities often provides a false sense of security
and secrecy for both the perpetrator and the victim.
Statistical Findings
The survey results offered the following statistical highlights:
- One in 5 youth received a sexual approach or solicitation over
the Internet in the past year.
- One in 33 youth received an aggressive sexual solicitation in
the past year. This means a predator asked a young person to meet
somewhere, called a young person on the phone, and/or sent the young
person correspondence, money, or gifts through the U.S. Postal Service.
- One in 4 youth had an unwanted exposure in the past year to pictures
of naked people or people having sex.
- One in 17 youth was threatened or harassed in the past year.
- Most young people who reported these incidents were not very disturbed
about them, but a few found them distressing.
- Only a fraction of all episodes was reported to authorities such
as the police, an Internet service provider, or a hotline.
- About 25 percent of the youth who encountered a sexual approach
or solicitation told a parent. Almost 40 percent of those reporting
an unwanted exposure to sexual material told a parent.
- Only 17 percent of youth and 11 percent of parents could name
a specific authority, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), CyberTipline, or an Internet service provider, to which they
could report an Internet crime, although more indicated they were
vaguely aware of such authorities.
- In households with home Internet access, one-third of parents
said they had filtering or blocking software on their computers.
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