Internet Vulnerability & Criminal Activity

5.2 – 10/10/2011 Child Exploitation Pedophilia & Child Pornography

Child Exploitation

“Possession, manufacture and distribution of child pornography; online enticement of children for sexual acts; child prostitution; child sex tourism and; child sexual molestation. ”

Methods of Child Exploitation

 Enticement 

“Inviting, persuading, or attempting to persuade a child to enter any vehicle, building, room, or secluded place with intent to commit an unlawful sexual act upon or with the person of said child”

 Pornography 

“Depictions of minors in sexual acts or provocative poses”

 Molestation 

“Any sexual behavior or activity that is abusive or nonconsensual toward a child – or sexual behavior that is specifically prohibited by state/federal law”

Methods of Child Exploitation

 Prostitution 

“The use of a child by others for sexual activities in return for remuneration or any other form of consideration”

 Sex Tourism 

“Traveling to a foreign country with the intent to engage in sexual activity with a child”

Victims of Child Exploitation Online

Minor

“Anyone under the age of 18 no matter what the age of consent in a state maybe”

Characteristics of Victims

        Dysfunctional families Older rather than younger Confusion over sexual orientation Not always “innocent” May misrepresent themselves May be looking for / collecting pornography Do not understand what they are getting into Consent is not an issue

Computer/Internet Use by Sex Offenders

    Computer only a tool Online offenders most similar to acquaintance molesters Offender slang   “Traders” - Traffic in child porn “Travelers” - Solicit sex with children Problem area - adolescents    Producing/trading child porn (sexting) Soliciting sex with other adolescents Not sexually deviant

Illegal Computer/Internet Activities    Possessing / producing child pornography  Uploading / downloading child pornography Soliciting sex with children Offering a child for sexual purposes

Legal Sexual Activities

 Validating deviant sexual behavior and interests  Reinforcing deviant arousal patterns  Storing and sharing sexual fantasies  Lying about one’s age and identity

Legal Sexual Activities cont.

   Collecting adult pornography that is not obscene Disseminating “indecent” material, talking dirty, “cyber-sex”, and providing sex instructions Injecting oneself into the “problem” of computer exploitation of children to rationalize interests

Categories of Sexual Offenders  Situational Offenders  Preferential Offenders  Miscellaneous Offenders

Situational Offenders



“Normal” adolescent / adult

  Curious Impulsive 

Morally indiscriminate

  Power / anger motivated Previous violent offenses 

Profiteers

 Easy money

Miscellaneous “Offenders”    

Media Reporters

 Engage in illegal behavior for news story

Pranksters

 “cyber-smearing”

Older “Boyfriends”

 Late teens / early 20’s

Overzealous citizens

  Want to help law enforcement Be aware of true motivation

Preferential Offenders



Pedophile

 Prefers sex with children 

Diverse

  Wide variety of deviant interests Sexually indiscriminate 

Latent

 Recently begun to act on illegal urges

Understanding Sexual Offender Behavior

Paraphilia

Sexual deviations or perversions

Paraphilia Defined

  Psychosexual disorder Recurrent, intense sexual arousing fantasies, urges, or behaviors that involve:     Nonhuman objects Suffering or humiliation Children, other non-consenting persons Occurs over a period of six months

Types of Paraphilia

 Exhibitionism - exposure  Fetishism - objects  Pedophilia - children  Sexual masochism - self-pain  Sexual sadism - partner-pain  Voyeurism - watching

Pedophilia Characteristics (Psychological)

 Sexual in nature  Highly addictive  Compulsive & repetitive  Very difficult to treat  Unstopped by self-control/self-discipline  Only a crime if urge is acted on  Does not include adolescent consensual relationships

Pedophiles use of the Internet

 Trafficking in child pornography  Locating children to molest  Engaging in inappropriate communications with children  Communicating with other pedophiles

Internet Technologies used by Sex Offenders       Adult Pornography Social Networking Sites Chat Rooms Online Gaming Sites Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Web Cams

Some Pedophile Groups -

        

Some on the Web

North American Man - Boy Love Association - NAMBLA The Rene Guyon Society Childhood Sensuality Circle - CSC Pedophiliacs Anonymous - PAN Pedophile Information Exchange - PIE Pedophile Action for Liberation - PAL Pedophile Alliance League - P.A.L.

The Lewis Carroll Collectors Guild Howard Nichols Society

Evidence

        Screen name Screen profile Accuracy of profile Length of time active Amount of time spent online Number of transmissions Number of files Number of file originated       Number of files forwarded Number of files received Number of recipients Site of communication Theme of messages and chat Theme of pornography

Child Pornography

“Depictions of minors in sexual acts or provocative poses”

How the Internet Changed Child Porn    Prior to the Internet, Child porn local, very small distribution Mid 1980’s - Child porn almost wiped out Internet & technology allows  Cheap, easy creation of child porn   Anonymous distribution Available through all Net channels (IRC, P2P, web pages, e-mail)

The Role of the Internet in

       

Promoting Child Pornography

Permits vast quantities from around the world Instantly available in any time or place Can be accessed anonymously & privately Facilitates direct communication and file sharing between users Relatively inexpensive Images do not deteriorate & are easy to store Variety of formats; potential for real-time & interactive experiences Can be used to create composite or virtual images

Three Components of the Problem

 Production  Distribution  Downloading

Production

 Premium placed on new material – much material decades old  Professionally produced materials from third world countries  Most common, amateurs recording their own sexual exploits  Clandestine photography of children in public places

Distribution

     Uploading & dissemination of pornographic images May involve sophisticated pedophile rings & organized crime groups Many times carried out by amateurs Efforts to stop distribution focusing on ISP’s and police stings has changed the way in which child porn is distributed Increasingly, sophisticated security measures are being used

Methods of Distribution

    Web sites Web cam E-mail E-groups     Newsgroups Bulletin Board Systems Chat Rooms Peer-to-peer

Downloading

   Accessing child porn via the Internet Images do not need to be saved In most cases, users must be actively seeking child porn  Increasingly, good computer skills & inside knowledge required  Most downloading done via newsgroups & chat rooms

Offender Typology

   Browsers  Inadvertently find child porn, but knowingly keep the images  No networking  No security strategies Private fantasizers  Create digital images for personal use   No networking No security strategies Trawlers  Seek child porn through open sources   Minimal networking Few security strategies

Offender Typology

   Non-secure collectors  Seek child porn in non-secure chat rooms & other open levels   High levels of networking No security strategies Secure collectors  Use closed newsgroups or secret pedophile rings   High level of networking Sophisticated security measures Groomers  Develop online relationships with children, use child porn to “groom” victim   May or may not be involved with networking Little security strategies

Offender Typology

   Physical abusers  Child porn part of pedophilic interest  May create their own child porn, evidence of their behavior   May or may not network Security depends on victim’s silence Producers  Record abuse for purpose of distributing to others   Networking depends on if producer is also distributor Security depends on victim’s silence Distributors  Disseminates child porn images   May have purely financial interests Networking and security depends upon level of operation

How do Pedophiles use Child Pornography         Source of pride Sexual gratification Feed/create sexual fantasies Training/grooming potential victims Lower potential victim’s inhibitions Blackmail victim into silence Profit Barter with other pedophiles

Dangers Associated with Child Porn     Single most distinct characteristic of child molester Used by molester to ‘normalize’ behavior Long term use leads to desensitization Used by terrorist groups to exchange information http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crim e/article4959002.ece

Law Enforcement Challenges

 Structure of the Internet  Decentralized, P2P  One site shut down, another will instantly take it’s place  Uncertainties of jurisdiction   Requires cooperation among agencies No clue to where images originate

Law Enforcement Challenges

   Lack of regulation  Community protection vs. Freedom of Speech  Ambiguity regarding liability, ISP responsibility Differences in legislation  Differences between countries   Countries may vary in commitment Cultural differences Expertise of offenders  Long time offenders experts in security measures  Many sting operations catch the inexperienced, low-level offender

Sources

 Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/publ ications/NC70.pdf

 Child Pornography on the Internet http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/ric/Publi cations/e04062000.pdf