Internet Crimes Against Children (Paperback) | Released: 25 Nov 2014

Research conducted relative to Internet crimes against children can be grouped into several subtopics: unwanted solicitation for sexual contact or pictures; pornography (children as the subject); harassment and bullying; and unwanted exposure to sexually explicit material. Many of the studies described in this document have been conducted by researchers affiliated with the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire who extrapolated data from the First (2000) and Second (2005) Youth Internet Safety Survey. These surveys canvassed a nationally representative sample of 1,500 youth ages 10 to 17 to determine the incidence and risk factors of youth exposure to sexual material on the Internet. Researchers also extrapolated data from the National Juvenile Online Victimization Study, which was intended to estimate the incidence of Internet sex crimes against minors occurring during a one-year period (2000-2001) that were known to law enforcement officials. This bibliography reviews the findings of the studies conducted using these surveys, as well as other surveys conducted for the purpose of identifying the patterns and frequency of criminal use of the Internet involving children. The bibliography also reviews the results of focus-group studies, literature reviews, and reports commissioned by the U.S. Congress. The purpose of the studies, surveys, and reports reviewed herein was multifaceted. Researchers primarily sought to determine how frequently children view sexually explicit material online and are approached for sexual activity online, as well as the demographics of the vulnerable populations. They also wanted to identify what specific crimes were being committed, and by whom, the role law enforcement plays in curtailing and preventing these activities, and what influence pornography and sexualized material have on the moral values and sexual attitudes of children and youth. They looked at broader issues as well: how children use the Internet generally (as compared with adults) and what role family dynamics and the parent-child relationship play in the prevention of Internet crime. Some of the studies examine a particular aspect of Internet crimes against children. For example, Patricia M. Greenfield, in testimony before Congress, addressed the role of peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. She concludes that the networks are part of a pervasive, sexualized media environment that leads to inadvertent exposure of children and youth to pornography and other adult sexual content. In 2003 the U.S. General Accounting Office reported that child pornography is easily found and downloaded from peer-to-peer networks, confirming observations of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Other researchers looked at one aspect of online sexual exploitation -the grooming of children by adult predators. Ilene R. Berson and Duncan Brown, in their articles, describe how online predators use deceptive techniques to gain a young child's trust and manipulate him or her into viewing pornography and agreeing to a personal meeting. In "Internet-Initiated Sex Crimes Against Minors," describe characteristics of interactions between Internet predators and their juvenile victims. A year-long survey conducted in 2001 of 129 Internet-initiated sex crimes involving victims age 17 or younger found that face-to-face meetings had occurred in 74 percent of the cases, and 93 percent of those encounters had included sexual contact. Seventy-five percent of the victims were girls. The same authors, writing in "Trends in Youth Reports of Sexual Solicitations, Harassment and Unwanted Exposure to Pornography on the Internet," report survey results indicating that predators use less deception to befriend their online victims than experts had thought. A large majority of the victims who responded to the survey had willingly met and had sexual encounters with the predators.