I am troubled by comments in a New York Times article about Internet safety attributed to an alleged expert on the subject (1). The tone of the article is dismissive towards the threats from Internet predators. The expert is quoted as saying, "The model we have of the online sexual predator is this lurking man who reaches out on the Internet and grabs a kid. And there is no data that support that." I disagree with the expert - there is data. Please count the thousands of arrests and convictions of Internet predators as disturbing data. Please also count the lifeless bodies of some who have been killed by Internet sexual predators as tragic and chilling data.
Comprehensive empirical "data" is challenging to produce in the field of Internet sex crimes. We know that some teens are victimized but never report due to their shame and the knowledge that their parents will pull their Internet privileges if they confess.
Here is some other data, from my memory:
Two Lives Altered
I recall one sad Arizona case where an undercover officer caught an online predator and later through research found that the suspect victimized two girls previously but neither girl had reported to law enforcement. The offender had also passed STD's to both of them. Not much "data" there except two lives irrevocably altered.
Two Lives Lost
And here are two more tragic items of "supporting data" forever etched in our memories: Christina Long (2) and Kacie Woody (3) - Rest in Peace.
For the statisticians who bean-count datum, please register the number "four".
The Times’ expert is further quoted as saying, "The most deadly misconception about American youth has been the sexual predator panic.” What "most deadly misconception and panic" is she referring to? There is no panic. There is only better reporting and awareness of sexual misconduct than in past decades. There is also a trend towards carefully measured responses to the offenses: at the legislative, enforcement and judicial levels.
Report to Congress
Here is more data – from a 2010 comprehensive threat assessment report to Congress (4). Researchers reported the following:
The Threat Assessment research indicates that the threat to our nation’s children of becoming a victim of child exploitation is a very serious one. For example, investigators and prosecutors report dramatic increases in the number, and violent character, of the sexually abusive images of children being trafficked through the Internet. They also report the disturbing trend of younger children depicted in these images, even including toddlers and infants. Further, offenders have become proficient at enticing children to engage in risky behavior, like agreeing to meet for sexual activity, or even to display themselves engaging in sexual activity through images or webcams. In addition, the offenders have been able to master Internet technologies to better mask their identities.
Cracking the Offenders’ Code
According to the Times article, the quoted expert safely navigated her teenage Cyberspace experiences unmolested. I would like to think that her safety was due in part to the hard working men and women who toiled to keep her safe on the Internet - but I know that enforcers are far outnumbered by predators - so - by the grace of God she went.
From where the Times’ expert sits perhaps she cannot understand what the investigators in the "field" of Cyberspace witness every day. We all wish that the Internet was a big happy play-land where kids could wander about unsupervised - but it is NOT. Parental vigilance and supervision are required.
References
(1) Paul, P. (January 20, 2012). Cracking teenagers’ online codes. New York Times (on-line). Retrieved January 22, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/fashion/danah-boyd-cracking-teenagers-online-codes.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
(2) Christina Long. http://christina-long.memory-of.com/About.aspx
(3) Kacie Woody. http://kaciewoody.homestead.com/Story.html
(4) U.S. Department of Justice. (August 2010). The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction: A report to Congress. Retrieved January 22, 2010 from http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/docs/natstrategyreport.pdf
