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Crime against children on the internet is growing fast; and yet, the problem is going largely unnoticed and underreported. Current statistics show that one in five children who use the Internet receive unwanted sexual solicitations. That might not seem like much stated that way, but, its more than five million children. And while it is easy to dismiss this as a simple reality of the Internet it fails to knock home the more important reality that if a child is exposed to behavior they are not ready to handle it could have an overall negative impact on their entire life. This is the real issue.
Another sinister aspect of the Internet is the explosion of pornography being directed at children. When most adult’s think of pornography they think of nudie pictures they might have gotten their hands on as a teenager. Certainly innocent and hardly damaging. But often on the Internet we are talking kiddy porn. Frankly I have yet to meet a person who has seen a real example of kiddy porn. I am sad to admit, however, that I saw my first kiddy porn picture at a law enforcement conference I attended. The picture was so shocking (a three year old) that it would be impossible for me to describe my own reaction adequately. Let’s just say the hair on the back of my head stood up. How big is the problem? Big enough that the second largest operation of the FBI is its “Innocent Images” program; it’s second only to the terrorism operation. The program is a first step to reduce or eliminate the distribution of kiddy porn on the internet.
As I write this, less than 5 percent of parents are aware of online sexual exploitation and fewer think their child is at risk. They basically have their head in the sand. This in spite of the simple reality that 1000s of children each month are agreeing to meetings with anonymous strangers they meet online. And many times this stranger is not another teenager but an adult aged 25-45. And the odd part of this story is that the majority of these perpetrators are adults with no previous criminal record. They are, however, frequently teachers, coaches, clergy and others who chose their profession so they could be around kids. It is a myth that this kind of perpetrator of crimes against children is a “gnarly old pervert sitting in his underwear while using a computer.”
The Internet is a wonderful asset that is certain to change for the better the lives of our children. It is opening up worlds of information that was never before available. At the same time it is a fertile hunting ground for pedophiles and purveyors of pornography. Now is the time for law enforcement, the media, schools and teachers to bring this problem into the public awareness and to educate parents on the ways to combat this problem. It is going to take parents collectively working one-by-one to solve this problem. There are not enough Internet “cops” to do the job and it is not likely there will ever be enough.
You can read more about Crimes Against Children on the Internet at Watch Right Internet Crimes Against Children
About the author:
Robert T DeMarco is CEO of IP Group in Herndon VA. IP Group offers software communication tools for use on the Internet. These include: PowerTools, Watch Right, Always on Time and IM Frame. Mr. DeMarco is also the author/editor of several Weblogs including the Watch Right Internet Crimes Against Children Weblog and is also a member of the High Tech Crimes Industry Association.
Robert T DeMarco
IP Group Inc
www.ipgroup.com
481 Carlisle Drive
Herndon VA 20170
703-435-9286
rtdemarco@ipgroup.com
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