Abstract
Purpose
To describe the variety of ways social networking sites (SNSs) are used to facilitate
the sexual exploitation of youth, as well as identify victim, offender, and case differences
between arrests, with and without a SNS nexus.
Methods
Mail surveys were sent to a nationally representative sample of over 2,500 local,
state, and federal law enforcement agencies in the United States. Follow-up detailed
telephone interviews were conducted for 1,051 individual cases ending in an arrest
for Internet-related sex crimes against minors in 2006.
Results
In the United States, an estimated 2,322 arrests (unweighted n = 291) for Internet
sex crimes against minors involved SNSs in some way, including an estimated 503 arrests
(unweighted n = 93) in cases involving identified victims and the use of SNSs by offenders
(the majority of arrests involved undercover operations undertaken by police). SNSs
were used to initiate sexual relationships, to provide a means of communication between
victim and offender, to access information about the victim, to disseminate information
or pictures about the victim, and to get in touch with victim's friends.
Conclusions
A considerable number of arrests for Internet sex crimes against minors have a SNS
nexus to them. The findings support previous claims that prevention messages should
target youth behaviors rather than specific online locations where these crimes occur.
In targeting behaviors, youth can take this knowledge with them online, regardless
of whether they are using SNSs, chat rooms, or instant messaging.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 26, 2010
Accepted:
January 9,
2010
Received:
July 29,
2009
Footnotes
Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
