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Online Sex Abuse Cases not ...
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Online Sex Abuse Cases Not Characterized by Deception, Abduction
and Force, Research Shows
Findings From National Sample of Law Enforcement Agencies Indicates That
Current Prevention Efforts Emphasizing On-Line Deception May Be Missing Their Mark
Kimberly Mitchell, Ph.D.,
Janis Wolak, M.A., J.D. &
David Finkelhor, Ph.D.,
APA.
August 1, 2004
Full text at < http://www.apa.org/releases/online_sexabuse.html >
Warnings about Internet child molesters often depict them as predators who impersonate peers
to befriend children and lure them into encounters that end in abduction, rape and murder. But
a new study of a national sample of such cases from U.S. law enforcement agencies paints a
different and disconcerting picture of the dynamics involved in these crimes.
According to the study:
Most offenders did not deceive victims about the fact that they were adults interested in
sexual relationships
The victims, primarily teens aged 13 to 15, met and had sex with the adults on more than
one occasion
Half of the victims were described as being in love with or feeling close bonds with the
offenders
Few offenders abducted or used force to sexually abuse their victims.
These findings suggest the need for parents, educators and the media to revise their
approaches to preventing Internet sex crimes, according to the authors of the research, Janis
Wolak, M.A., J.D., David Finkelhor, Ph.D., and Kimberly Mitchell, Ph.D., of the Crimes against
Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. Dr. Mitchell will present their
findings at the 112th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) in
Honolulu.
The researchers surveyed local, state and federal law enforcement investigators from 2,574 law
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