Epidemiology of online sexual solicitation and interaction of minors with adults: A longitudinal study

Criminological differences between contact-driven and online-focused suspects in online child sexual grooming police reports

BACKGROUND

Differences exist between contact and noncontact-driven online child sexual abuse offenders; however, there is still a notable lack of empirical studies with police samples from non-English speaking countries, including Spain.

OBJECTIVE

We address this gap by analyzing the criminological characteristics of online child sexual grooming (OCSG) suspected offenders from de-identified law enforcement investigations in Spain.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

We anonymously coded data provided by Spanish law enforcement agencies from 257 OCSG cases (i.e., unique chat logs between a suspect and minor) extracted from 98 police reports with index investigation years from 2008 to 2021. A total of 101,391 messages were analyzed.

METHODS

Three distinct datasets were created: 257 OCSG cases, 120 unique suspects (79 online-focused, 41 contact-driven), and 234 unique victims. Each dataset focused on different criminological variables for analysis, such as grooming strategy, motivation, and victim high-risk behaviors.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences between suspects on gender, age, or criminal offense history. Contact-driven suspects were more likely to use positive rapport (ɸ = 0.18), send unprompted sexually explicit images of themselves (ɸ = 0.19), and offer something in exchange (ɸ = 0.25). Victims of contact-driven individuals were more likely to be male (ɸ = 0.52) and offer something in exchange for sex or sexually explicit images (ɸ = 0.18). Victims of online-focused individuals were more likely to be younger (r = 0.26).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest criminological differences in the online grooming strategies between contact-driven and online-focused suspected offenders in Spain.

Stability of the online grooming victimization of minors: Prevalence and association with shame, guilt, and mental health outcomes over one year

INTRODUCTION

Online grooming is the process by which an adult manipulates a minor by using information and communication technologies to interact sexually with that minor. The objective of this study was to analyze the stability of online grooming victimization among minors and its relationship with demographic variables (e.g., gender, age, and sexual orientation), emotions of shame and guilt, and depression and anxiety symptoms.

METHODS

The participants were 746 adolescents aged 12-14 years when the study started (Mage = 13.34, SD = 0.87) who completed self-reports at Time 1 (T1) and 1 year later at Time 2 (T2). Among them, 400 were girls, 344 were boys, and two were nonbinary. At each time point, the minors self-reported their online grooming experiences during the previous year.

RESULTS

The results showed that 11.8% (n = 89) of the participants were T1-victims, 13% (n = 95) were T2-victims, and 11% (n = 81) were stable victims of online grooming. Stability in victimization was related to being older, being a sexual minority, being born abroad, having separated or divorced parents, and having parents with a lower education level. Stable victims showed higher shame and guilt scores at T1 than did T1-victims, indicating that elevated levels of shame and guilt could contribute to the persistence of online grooming over time.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, adolescents in the stable victim category presented more depression and anxiety symptoms. Intervention strategies should address emotions related to victimization, such as shame and guilt, as well as depression and anxiety symptoms.

Solicitation and Sexualized Interactions of Minors with Adults: Prevalence, Overlap with Other Forms of Cybervictimization, and Relationship with Quality of Life

Sexual solicitation and sexualized interaction with minors by adults constitute one of the most pernicious risks of the Internet. Little is known about the age range in which this phenomenon is most prevalent or the relationship and overlap of this problem with other risks, such as peer-to-peer cybervictimization and cyber dating abuse. Additionally, little empirical evidence exists on whether the overlap between these types of online victimization affects health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study aimed to: 1) analyze the prevalence of sexual solicitation and interaction according to sex and stage of adolescence; 2) relate this problem to other forms of online victimization (cybervictimization and cyber dating abuse); 3) analyze the overlap between these forms of online victimization and differences in HRQoL scores. A cross-sectional and analytical study with 3,578 adolescents (52.7% girls) aged between 10-15 years was carried out. Of the adolescents in the study sample, 12.6% (n = 448) had received sexual requests and 6.4% (n = 230) had interacted sexually with adults. Sexual solicitation was most common among girls in middle adolescence. Of the participants, 33.9% (n = 1,216) had been involved in some form of online victimization. Peer cybervictimization and cyber dating abuse were positively and significantly correlated with sexualized solicitation/interactions with adults. Victims with the overlapping of all three types of online victimization (2.7%, n = 98) presented the lowest HQRoL scores (p < .001).

Offenders' approaches to overcoming victim resistance in technology-assisted child sexual abuse

BACKGROUND

Perpetrators of technology-assisted abuse use an abundance of strategies to manipulate and sexually abuse children online, however victim resistance during and post abuse has yet to be explored in detail.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to explore the strategies perpetrators use to overcome direct victim resistance and the strategies victims use to resist perpetrators' demands.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The sample was recruited through Childline, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP). This consisted of 10 semi-structured interview transcripts of 1 male and 9 female victims of technology-assisted sexual abuse, who were aged between 9 and 15 years old at the time of the abuse (M = 13.09, SD = 2.0).

METHOD

This study qualitatively analysed secondary data collected by Hamilton-Giachritsis et al. (2020). The interview transcripts were analysed using a thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The thematic map consisted of two key themes and six sub-themes. Results identified how all perpetrators appeared to adapt their strategies of overcoming victim resistance using a variety of approaches. These ranged from isolating victims and depriving them of sleep, to more extreme approaches such as threats to share sexual images of the victims. Victims also used a range of strategies to resist and de-escalate the abuse, such as feigning ignorance and complying with some but not all requests.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified the key strategies used by offenders to overcome victim resistance, and the strategies young people used to resist, de-escalate and end the abuse.