Online Sexual Predators Essay Example for Free

Online Sexual Predators Essay The Internet has brought a wealth of convenience and benefit to its users. Among its users though sexual predators and pedophiles that pose a very real threat to children particularly those who have unsupervised Internet usage. In addition to laws directed at protecting people from sexual predators, various taskforces from the local police to international level have been formed to deal with this rising problem. However, with every arrest made, there are new perpetrators and pornography rings to take their place. Parents are advised to keep vigilant and monitor the Internet usage of their children. People are also reminded that predators are not as easily recognizable and avoided as they may think. Online Predators: The Pedophiles Convenience and comfort†¦ These are just two things that the Internet has brought to todays modern lives. With just the click of a mouse, one can complete bank transactions, order groceries, download the latest music, connect with friends and business contacts and do all the research they need for school, work and personal use right from the comfort of their own homes. More and more people have come to depend on the Internet for most everything they do. In 2003 alone, estimates of Internet users peg about 56% of the American population as regular users of the Internet (Metzger Docter, 2003) and the numbers keep rising. The Internet has made life, work and education so convenient for quite a large number of people. Unfortunately, numbered among these people are those who utilize the Internet for more sinister and evil purposes †¦the Internet sexual predators and pedophiles. A pedophile is an adult who displays sexual preference for pre-pubescent children from age 13 and younger (Pedophilia, 2004). Sexual fantasies, fondling, sexual contact and collecting pornographic material featuring children are just a few ways pedophiles satisfy their sexual urges. While some pedophiles are content with just collecting and fantasizing with child pornography, some choose to indulge their fantasies and urges in a more serious and dangerous way. (Taylor and Quayle, 2003. p 75) For pedophiles, the Internet has become a virtual community where they can share tips, photos and videos with other pedophiles. The Internet also affords pedophiles and other sexual predators the chance to access online chat rooms and web groups that are frequented by children, teenagers, and other possible victims (Mahoney and Faulkner, 1997). The anonymity that the Internet offers its users veils the true nature and identity of the pedophile as they pretend to be children chatting up other unknowing children. An estimated 25-50% of these have already committed sexual acts with minors (Morgan, 2006. p53). Donna Rice Hughes, author of Kids Online and senior adviser to the web site Familyclick. com says that while most parents express concern about the openness of the Internet and may have an idea of the risks associated with online access, most are not aware of the degree of severity Internet threats can be for unmonitored children (Edwards, 2000. p14). Children can easily be exposed to pornographic material, not to mention be in actual contact with pedophiles through online chat rooms, peer support groups, and messaging systems (p. 14). Lt. Mike Harmony of the Bedford County Sherriffs office and member of Operation Blue Ridge Thunder, one of the nations leading task forces on crimes against children says: The exploitation of children on the Internet is a huge and growing problem. The public just doesnt realize how bad it is, (Blue Ridge Team Nabs 2002, B01) Lt. Harmony was part of the team that handled the case of a 13-year old girl whose former boyfriend pasted her picture onto a picture of a naked woman and posted it online along with her address and phone number. This attracted calls from several pornographers and pedophiles including one who threatened to come to her home and hurt her entire family if she didnt come out of state to make a home movie. Nowadays, there is a growing awareness of the very real threat that the Internet brings in the person of online predators such as pedophiles. According to an article that appeared in the August 2006 issue of Readers Digest, 1 in 5 children in computer chat rooms are engaged in conversation by a child sex abuser. Among minors between the ages of 8 to 18, 1 in 8 discover that the person they were chatting with online was an adult pretending to be much younger (Morgan, 2006. p51-52) Law enforcement groups in each state has started building up teams and file sharing systems specifically for the purpose of tracking and catching pedophiles and child pornographers. Even agencies such as the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are helping out by setting up a database of images of those they can prove are real children (Ryan, 2004. p1). In 2004, graphic artist and child pornographer Robert Earl Smith of Eugene, Oregon was sentenced to more than 53 years in prison after pleading guilty to 42 charges including first-degree sexual abuse and sodomy involving an infant who was less than a year old (Pedophile Gets Maximum Term, 2004, p. d1). Presented as evidence against Smith were a collection of email messages he exchanged with an undercover investigator who posed as another pedophile. Smith came to the authorities attention after police in Knoxville, Tennessee were able to trace child pornography on the Internet back to Smith. A search of Smiths home revealed explicit photographs showing Smith having sex with a very young girl that were also uploaded on the Internet. At the trial, Deputy Lane County District Attorney Debra Vogt detailed how Smith encouraged the undercover investigator to abuse young children even saying how he himself abuses very young children because they cant tell on him (p. d1) Smiths defense lawyer John Halpern blamed Smiths weakening and eventual pedophilia to the wealth and accessibility of child pornography on the Internet. He further stated that prior to the Internet, Smith could not so easily have yielded to any weakness for child pornography that he might have. (p. d1) The judge in the case however didnt buy the defense. What the Law has to Say: State law enforcement units as well as the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have each put in place their own task forces and programs in dealing with online predators and pedophiles. The Department of Homeland Securitys Operation Predator alone racked up 59 arrests for child pornography in Illinois, and 17 convictions in 2004. Among those that the Operation has been able to bring to justice were Barrington swim coach Joshua Delcore; John Roth, Carys village attorney; and Lawrence Swager, a swim coach and tutor for learning-disabled students at a Crystal Lake high school (Ryan, 2004, p. 1). Since they started operations in 1996, the FBIs Innocent Images Task Force have also had chalked up an average of 20 arrests per year with the numbers continually rising according to FBI special agent Ross Rice. Among those they have arrested was Scott Wolfers, a police officer in Aurora, Illinois who was charged with two counts of possession of child pornography (p. 1).