How Do Child Abductors Survive on the Internet?

Q: How many Internet abductions are there each year in North America?

A: Data collected by the FBI Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and other agencies, documents only 13 cases of Internet abductions in 1996. This figure exploded to more than 800 in 1999. The data isn't in yet for 2004, though that figure is expected to increase since more and more people have become connected.

Q: How do pedophiles convince kids to meet with them?

A: To begin with, most Internet child molesters don't present themselves as the adults that they are. They troll chat rooms, posing to be the 11 to 14 year-olds that they wish to abduct. Many pedophiles choose this age group because they are more able to leave the home unsupervised than younger kids, are less savvy than older ones, and can still communicate reasonably well using a keyboard and mouse.

The offender will pose as a fellow preteen or teen, trying to emulate the slang he or she has witnessed online. Once the child believes he or she is chatting with a peer, screen names or email addresses are often exchanged. They are also invited into private chat rooms, away from the crowds in the main room. From here, the pedophile may begin a process of finding out personal information about the child, such as where that child lives, whether or not they are alone after school, details about their family situation, and a host of other personal information. The child, who has a picture of a fellow kid chatter in his or her head, may feel as if divulging this information is totally safe.

A predator may be attempting to cultivate numerous victims at once. So, he has time to slowly break down the barriers that each child might have, until topics of sex are introduced. The time at which this is done may be so long after the initial online contact that the child may have totally come to trust their "buddy" by then. Or, the child may become scared and attempt to cut off the pedophile. In these cases, the old ruse of "I'll tell your mom and dad what you've been doing," is often used, or there may be threats to harm the child's family. If friendship doesn't work, scare tactics will do for a sexual predator. Later, a child may be asked to send a photo (so the pedophile will know who to look for) and a meeting may be arranged. By this time, the child may or may not know the actual age of their online chat buddy-regardless, the level of danger has just gone way up.

In addition, a pedophile in Chicago and a child in Detroit isn't even an obstacle for many offenders. After cultivating a child into a meeting, a pedophile will often be more than happy to spend the price of a cheap airline seat, or a few tanks of gasoline, to meet with a child. The intention may be to assault the child there and sneak back home undetected, to take the child elsewhere, for a long or short period of time.

Q: How does a parent combat this growing threat?

A: By treating the computer as they would the television. You wouldn't plop your child down with the remote and unlimited access to X-rated movies, so don't let them use the computer when you're not there, or with the monitor out of your line of sight. Kids should never have Internet connections in their bedrooms or behind closed doors. If you see your child is chatting with someone, ask him or her about them. Discuss who they think this person is, and how they're so sure the person is who they say they are. If your child says something like, "Well, they sent me this photo, and the person in this photo is my age," then tell them all they ways people routinely lie on the Internet --- from people pretending they're a 5' 7" blonde bombshell, all the way down the line. Talk to your child about giving out any personal information and discuss what that information is. Your child may not know that their home location can be traced from their phone number in many cases. Your main line of defense against predators entering your home via the phone lines is supervision.

Q: I know very little about the Internet. How can I protect my child?

A: The world is getting more complicated, and technology in the home both makes life more enjoyable and more puzzling. As a parent, you're probably still amazed at how your child can install an operating system while you're struggling with the power button. Do not let this gap in computer savvy deter you. Have your child help you, play around on your own, learn how to get on the Internet and then look for topics related to Internet safety for children and families. Through your actions, certain safety concepts will be second nature by the time your kids have to teach their own children to be safe.