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Online Sex Abuse Cases Not Characterized By Deception, Abduction And Force, Research Shows
Date: August 1, 2004
Contact: David Partenheimer
Public Affairs Office
(202) 336-5706 (until 7/24)
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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
HONOLULU — 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 enforcement agencies between 2001 and 2002, to identify sexual offenses against
juvenile victims that originated with an online encounter and ended with the arrest of an
offender.
Findings show that despite the stereotypes of Internet sex crimes against minors, offenders
targeted adolescents, not younger children (99% were age 13 to 17 and none were younger
than 12). Only 5% of offenders tried to deceive victims about being older adults. Only 21%
lied about their sexual motives, and most of these deceptions involved insincere promises of
love and romance. Few offenders used force (5%) or coercion (16%) or abduction (3%) to
sexually abuse their victims. The research also suggests that it may be misleading to
categorize offenders in such cases as strangers, because victims and offenders had typically
communicated, both online and by telephone, for more than one month prior to meeting in
person.
According to the authors, the study has several implications for prevention. Rather than
http://www.apa.org/releases/online_sexabuse.html (1 of 2) [6/5/2005 8:39:28 PM]