MI- Child sexual abuse drops, but online victims are on the rise

10-18-2009 Michigan:

He could be a coach.

He could be a teacher

Or perhaps he is a father.

However, he could also be a child molester, possibly a predator.

He is someone who haunts the popular social networking Web sites and chat rooms where children often share personal information about their lives. He is hoping to find the one child he can victimize.

"There is no profile of a predator or a child who will fall victim to a predator," said Stacie Rumenap, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Stop Child Predators. "In some cases, it is the creepy guy who lives down the street; but in a lot of cases, it's a schoolteacher, police officer, legislator, or members of Congress. There is no demographic."

Among those linked to inappropriate contact with or conversations with underage children was former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who resigned his seat in 2006 after his contacts with teenage congressional pages through sexually explicit e-mail and instant messages were disclosed.

Yet, researchers in a March study found that the Internet remains a relatively safe social environment.

What is pedophilia?

Pedophilia is a paraphilia that involves an abnormal interest in children. A paraphilia is a disorder characterized by recurrent intense sexual urges and sexually arousing fantasies involving sexual contact by an adult toward a child.

Another disorder in the paraphilias group is hebephilia, which is a sexual preference for pre-pubescent youths, and ephebophilia, which is a sexual interest in teenagers.

Experts say pedophiles are predominately male.

A child molester is any older child or adult who touches a child for his or her own sexual gratification. A child sexual predator is an individual who is a sexually violent person who hunts or stalks a child.

Generally accepted academic studies say one out of every four women is sexually molested by an adult before she reaches age 18. For men, that number is one out of every 10.

How prevalent is abuse online?

Statistics show that child sexual abuse has decreased 50 percent in the past year, said David Burton, an assistant professor at the Smith College School for Social Work in Northampton, Mass.

"It doesn't mean it's not happening; there's still a lot of it, but it's decreased quite a bit," Burton said.

However, the number of kids actually victimized as a result of someone they met online grew 21 percent, up to an estimated 615 kids in 2006, according to a study led by David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center. He described this as a "very modest growth" given the number of children using the Internet today.

"The most encouraging news is the very large increase in the number of arrests of offenders," Finkelhor said in a Web podcast by ConnectSafety.org. "It suggests how aggressive and proactive law enforcement is, and how many are being caught before getting to a kid."

In August, investigators conducting an online sting targeting child molesters said that within minutes of signing online, they had 150 people interested in chatting with their underage persona. Nine of those men were arrested when they drove to a Livingston County home to allegedly have sex with the person they thought was a child.

Those men return to Livingston County Circuit Court on Oct. 30 for a pretrial hearing on felony charges.

"In some interviews, (accused pedophiles) say they know law enforcement is patrolling the Internet, but they are willing to take the risk," Rumenap said.

Detective Matthew Shutes, who heads the Livingston County Sheriff's Department's Internet Crimes Unit, is one of those officers. He said the nature of online chatting has changed, thanks to media reports about stings like the one in August in Livingston County.

"They are using other means," he said. "A Yahoo! chat room three or four years ago was flooded with these sharks. The avenues of a predator's communication has changed."

Shutes said child molesters or predators are using social networking sites, like Facebook, to meet children. They are also using online gaming sites, like RuneScape, to find potential victims.

RuneScape is a 3-D multiplayer adventure with monsters to kill and quests to complete in order to win treasure.

Shutes uses several personas, including a 13-year-old girl, when he visits an online chat room. Within 20 seconds, he gets two immediate hits. The number steadily climbs as he sits in the chat room, waiting to see who will bite.


"They will immediately make contact with me via the instant message," he said. "Within under a minute, I've gotten a conference invitation asking if I'm interested in a nude cam show, which is common."

When Shutes repeatedly replies that he is a "13-year-old girl," assumed child molesters or pedophiles jump "like ticks on a dog," he said.

Not all of Shutes' online conversations will lead to a criminal investigation, but the way it starts is generally the same.

"The topic of sex is always approached by them," Shutes said. "In the past four years of my experience, that topic is broached in the first couple minutes. They get right down to business."

About one in seven youths — defined as ages 10-17 — received a sexual solicitation online or are approached via the Internet, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Four percent received an aggressive sexual solicitation — a solicitor who asked to meet them somewhere; called them on the telephone; or sent them offline mail, money or gifts — while 34 percent had an unwanted exposure to sexual material, including pictures of naked people or people having sex.

"The Internet has allowed child predators a whole new form of communication," Rumenap said. "They no longer have to go to schools."

Who are pedophiles in the community?

In 80 percent of child molestation cases, according to experts, the accused is someone the child knows — a parent, teacher, coach, stepparent, etc.

Burton said about 30 percent of sexual offenders were sexually abused as children. They often had a "crappy childhood full of violence" and neglect as well as emotional abuse, social awkwardness and an inability to meet one's sexual needs with adults.

Which children are most at risk?

The Internet child molester or predator is searching for children who exhibit loneliness or express unhappiness about their family life, experts say.

Loreen Olson, an associate professor at the University of Missouri who studies the luring communication of child sexual predators, and her research team identified what they call the "cycle of entrapment" by a predator. She describes it as a wheel.

On the hub of the wheel is what researchers call "deceptive trust development," which describes the predator's ability to build a trusting relationship with the child in order to improve the likelihood of a sexual encounter. The deception is the child molester's true intent to victimize the child.

On the spokes of that wheel are grooming, approach and isolation. All three spokes work together, Olson said.

Grooming is the subtle behaviors that an adult uses to get the child inoculated to sexual touch, and it can be done by showing the child pornography, including pictures or videos. In person, grooming also includes touching the child, such as rubbing the back or sitting close to the child.

"The perp works to isolate the child both physically as well as psychologically," Olson said. "They may criticize the family, allow the child to vent about that and build upon it. They try to pull the child out of his or her supportive social network, physically and emotionally."

Can a molester be successfully treated?

Experts disagree on whether a child molester can be successfully treated.

Burton said statistics show that recidivism rates for molesters who are treated ranges between 5 percent and 20 percent. He said treatment could include cognitive behavioral therapy, where a child molester works on his childhood issues or learns to manage his emotions.

"Most sex offenders are fathers and brothers. They are regular people, frankly. Treatment for them goes well," he said. "Treatment is effective. ... These people who are victims need to know that."

A 2001 report from the Center for Sex Offender Management found that the underreporting of sexual assault contributes to the underreporting of recidivism. This leads to a problem accurately predicting recidivism rates for child molesters.

"We do not know the answer," Burton said.

For the psychopathic offender — or predator — who has no remorse and does not care about his victim, treatment "may be impossible," Burton said.

Rumenap said child molesters may be treatable. However, "this type of crime doesn't stop," she noted.

"This type of crime, very similar to adult rape cases, is not about sex," she explained. "It's about power, control and, sometimes, it's about sex. We see sex offenders being released only to be redoing their crime.

"Sex offenders," she noted, "are four times more likely to repeat their crime. ... You can't cure sex offenders, but you can deter them from going back to prison."

Rumenap's group, Stop Child Predators, has pushed for mandatory longer sentences for the child molester or predator. She defines longer as at least 25 years in prison.

The group also has advocated for states to make electronic monitoring mandatory for parolees whose crime includes sex offenses.

"What price do you put on a child?" Rumenap said.

"It doesn't mean it's not happening; there's still a lot of it, but it's decreased quite a bit," Burton said.

However, the number of kids actually victimized as a result of someone they met online grew 21 percent, up to an estimated 615 kids in 2006, according to a study led by David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center. He described this as a "very modest growth" given the number of children using the Internet today.

"The most encouraging news is the very large increase in the number of arrests of offenders," Finkelhor said in a Web podcast by ConnectSafety.org. "It suggests how aggressive and proactive law enforcement is, and how many are being caught before getting to a kid."

In August, investigators conducting an online sting targeting child molesters said that within minutes of signing online, they had 150 people interested in chatting with their underage persona. Nine of those men were arrested when they drove to a Livingston County home to allegedly have sex with the person they thought was a child.

Those men return to Livingston County Circuit Court on Oct. 30 for a pretrial hearing on felony charges.

"In some interviews, (accused pedophiles) say they know law enforcement is patrolling the Internet, but they are willing to take the risk," Rumenap said.

Detective Matthew Shutes, who heads the Livingston County Sheriff's Department's Internet Crimes Unit, is one of those officers. He said the nature of online chatting has changed, thanks to media reports about stings like the one in August in Livingston County.

"They are using other means," he said. "A Yahoo! chat room three or four years ago was flooded with these sharks. The avenues of a predator's communication has changed."

Shutes said child molesters or predators are using social networking sites, like Facebook, to meet children. They are also using online gaming sites, like RuneScape, to find potential victims.

RuneScape is a 3-D multiplayer adventure with monsters to kill and quests to complete in order to win treasure.

Shutes uses several personas, including a 13-year-old girl, when he visits an online chat room. Within 20 seconds, he gets two immediate hits. The number steadily climbs as he sits in the chat room, waiting to see who will bite.

"They will immediately make contact with me via the instant message," he said. "Within under a minute, I've gotten a conference invitation asking if I'm interested in a nude cam show, which is common."

When Shutes repeatedly replies that he is a "13-year-old girl," assumed child molesters or pedophiles jump "like ticks on a dog," he said.

Not all of Shutes' online conversations will lead to a criminal investigation, but the way it starts is generally the same.

"The topic of sex is always approached by them," Shutes said. "In the past four years of my experience, that topic is broached in the first couple minutes. They get right down to business."

About one in seven youths — defined as ages 10-17 — received a sexual solicitation online or are approached via the Internet, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Four percent received an aggressive sexual solicitation — a solicitor who asked to meet them somewhere; called them on the telephone; or sent them offline mail, money or gifts — while 34 percent had an unwanted exposure to sexual material, including pictures of naked people or people having sex.

"The Internet has allowed child predators a whole new form of communication," Rumenap said. "They no longer have to go to schools."

Who are pedophiles in the community?

In 80 percent of child molestation cases, according to experts, the accused is someone the child knows — a parent, teacher, coach, stepparent, etc.

Burton said about 30 percent of sexual offenders were sexually abused as children. They often had a "crappy childhood full of violence" and neglect as well as emotional abuse, social awkwardness and an inability to meet one's sexual needs with adults.

Which children are most at risk?

The Internet child molester or predator is searching for children who exhibit loneliness or express unhappiness about their family life, experts say.

Loreen Olson, an associate professor at the University of Missouri who studies the luring communication of child sexual predators, and her research team identified what they call the "cycle of entrapment" by a predator. She describes it as a wheel.

On the hub of the wheel is what researchers call "deceptive trust development," which describes the predator's ability to build a trusting relationship with the child in order to improve the likelihood of a sexual encounter. The deception is the child molester's true intent to victimize the child.

On the spokes of that wheel are grooming, approach and isolation. All three spokes work together, Olson said.

Grooming is the subtle behaviors that an adult uses to get the child inoculated to sexual touch, and it can be done by showing the child pornography, including pictures or videos. In person, grooming also includes touching the child, such as rubbing the back or sitting close to the child.

"The perp works to isolate the child both physically as well as psychologically," Olson said. "They may criticize the family, allow the child to vent about that and build upon it. They try to pull the child out of his or her supportive social network, physically and emotionally." ..Source.. by Lisa Roose-Church