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Most Online Sex Predators Are Not Strangers, New Study Finds

by Chad Mumm on April 2, 2009 at 07:38 PM


This week, University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center released a new study (PDF) of online child predators, and some of its findings may surprise you. While the report tends to get a bit technical, it has some interesting facts, which we've broken down for you below.

First off, even though the study estimates that there were approximately 3,715 arrests of online child predators in 2006, only about 15-percent of them involved an actual child; the other 85-percent were sting operations involving an undercover officer. Therefore, according to Ars Technica, although the overall number of online child predator arrests has increased since 2000, that increase can most likely be attributed to a rise in the number of children online, as well as a significant stepping-up of law enforcement sting operations.

Surprisingly, online chat is still the most common place of contact for illicit interactions, even though social networks such as MySpace and Facebook tend to bear the brunt of bad press. It should make parents happy to know that the researchers found no evidence of predators using pictures or personal information posted on sites like these to target kids for stalking. Indeed, the research shows that all instances of stalking developed after the end of a real, face-to-face relationship.


With regards to the increase in younger predators (aged 18-25) since 2000, the authors of the study point out that this generation came of age online, making these predators more likely to look for victims on the Web. Still (and most importantly), children are most likely to be exploited by acquaintances and family members, rather than strangers on the Internet. And while this may not always take the front page of the news, this has always been the case.

We recommend talking to your kids about using common sense online. The Web is a great resource for education and social interaction, and we believe it can offer as much to kids as it does to adults. [From: Ars Technica]

Death of Print

    Elle Girl
    In April 2006, Elle Girl's print edition was closed down, but the Web site lives on at ellegirl.com.

    CosmoGirl
    Though it will be folded into Seventeen magazine, the teen version of Cosmopolitan will publish its last print issue in December 2008. It will live on at CosmoGirl.com.

    Christian Science Monitor
    Founded in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, this venerable paper will move all its daily content to the Web starting in 2009, though it will still publish a weekly print version.

    Radar Magazine
    Was it too snarky for its own good? We'll never know, but this modern-day successor to '80s-era Spy magazine shut down in October. AMI, owner of the National Enquirer, bought RadarOnline.com, however, which will focus on celebrity gossip a la TMZ.com.

    US News and World Report
    Once a serious competitor to Time and Newsweek, US News and World Report is now best known for its College guides, which it will continue to publish. The weekly newsmagazine, however, will be turned into a monthly, and all daily operations are moving to the Web at usnews.com.


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Tags: child pornography, child predators, ChildPornography, ChildPredators, online sexual predators, OnlineSexualPredators, sex offenders, SexOffenders, study

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