Sexual Exploitation Archives

  • Dr. Michael Seto estimated that 3% of the male population is aroused by pedophilic stimuli (International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children)
  • Only 18% of youth use chat rooms, however, the majority of Internet-initiated sex crimes against children are initiated in chat rooms. (Journal of Adolescent Health 47, 2010)
  • In 82% of online sex crimes against minors, the offender used the victim's social networking site to gain information about the victim's likes and dislikes. (Journal of Adolescent Health 47, 2010)
  • According to Interpol, the international police organization, as many as one in 1,000 men has a sexual interest in children. Dr. Michael Seto estimated that 3% of the male population is aroused by pedophilic stimuli (International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children)
  • Only 18% of youth use chat rooms, however, the majority of Internet-initiated sex crimes against children are initiated in chat rooms. (Journal of Adolescent Health 47, 2010)
  • In 82% of online sex crimes against minors, the offender used the victim's social networking site to gain information about the victim's likes and dislikes.(Journal of Adolescent Heatlh 47, 2010)
  • 65% of online sex offendors used the victim's social networking site to gain home and school information about the victim (Journal of Adolescent Heatlh 47, 2010)
  • Only 1 in 3 people will report sexual crimes to a trusted adult (International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children)
  • At least 1.8 million children are used in commercial sex, many sold into sexual slavert by poor families and others abducted and trafficked into brothels(International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children)
  • At least 8 million children go missing each year(International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children)
  • 26% of online sex offenders used the victim's social networking site to gain information about the victim's whereabouts at a specific time. (Journal of Adolescent Health 47, 2010)
  • Research indicates that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before adulthood;[2] sadly, 30-40% of these victims are abused by a family member and 50% are abused by someone outside the family whom they know and trust. [3] Although the majority of this child sex abuse does not occur online, in the Internet age, offline sex abuse if fueled by pedophiles’ unprecedented access to child pornography online.
  • There are over 747,408 registered sex offenders in the United States, and over 100,000 are lost in the system. United States. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2008.
  • A New Zealand Internal Affairs study suggests that there is an association between viewing child pornography and committing child sexual abuse (New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs. Internet Traders of Child Pornography: Profiling Research. By Caroline Sullivan. October 2005. January 10, 2006. < http://www.dia.govt.nz/pubform...le/Profilingupdate2.pdf>).
  • A study of The American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that one in six men reported being sexually abused as children. Almost 40 percent of the perpetrators were female (Long-Term Consequences of Childhood Sexual Abuse by Gender of Victim. Volume 28, Issue 5. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine. June 2005).
  • One in four women reported childhood sexual abuse and in most cases perpetrated by males (Long-Term Consequences of Childhood Sexual Abuse by Gender of Victim. Volume 28, Issue 5. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine. June 2005).
  • At least 200 million girls and 100 million boys will be sexually victimized before they reach adulthood(International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children)
  • Research indicates that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before adulthood. 30-40% of these victims are abused by a family member and 50% are abused by someone outside the family whom they know and trust. United States Department of Justice. National Institute of Justice. Youth Victimization: Prevalence and Implications, 2003.
  • Internet pedophiles are increasingly adopting counter-intelligence techniques to protect themselves from being traced (National Criminal Intelligence Service, 8/21/03).
  • Forty percent of people charged with child pornography also sexually abuse children, police say. But finding the predators and identifying the victims are daunting tasks (Reuters, 2003).
  • One in five children who use computer chatrooms has been approached over the Internet by pedophiles. (Detective Chief Superintendent Keith Akerman, Telegraph.co.uk January 2002).
  • 1 in 5 received sexual solicitation or approach in last year. (Online Victimization, NCMEC, June 2000).
  • 1 in 33 received AGGRESSIVE sexual solicitation (asked to meet, called them via phone, sent mail, money or gifts). (Online Victimization, NCMEC, June 2000)
  • 25% of youth who received sexual solicitation told a parent. (Online Victimization, NCMEC, June 2000).
  • 1 in 4 kids participate in Real Time Chat. (FamilyPC Survey, 2000).
  • One in seven kids received a sexual solicitation online.[4]
  • Over half (56%) of kids sexually solicited online were asked to send a picture; 27% of the pictures were sexually-oriented in nature.[5]
  •  44% of sexual solicitors were under the age of 18.[6]
  • Four percent of all youth Internet users received aggressive sexual solicitations, which threatened to spill over into “real life”.  These solicitors asked to meet the youth in person, called them on the telephone or sent offline mail, money or gifts.  Also, four percent of youth had distressing sexual solicitations that left them feeling upset of extremely afraid.[7]
  • Of aggressive sexual solicitations of youth (when the solicitor attempted to establish an offline contact via in-person meeting or phone call), 73% of youth met the solicitor online.[8]
  • Sexual solicitations of youth occur:[9]

  • o   Chatrooms (37%)

    o   Instant Messaging (40%)

    o   Other, like gaming devices (21%)

  •  The more risky behaviors kids engage in online, the more likely they will receive an online sexual solicitation.  These risky behaviors include[10]:

  • o   Posting personal information (50%)

    o   Interacting with online strangers (45%)

    o   Placing strangers on buddy lists (35%)

    o   Sending personal information to strangers (26%)

    o   Visiting X-rated sites (13%)

    o   Talking about sex with strangers (5%)

  • 80% of online offenders against youth were eventually explicit with youth about their intentions, and only 5% concealed the fact that they were adults from their victims.[11
  • The majority of victims of Internet-initiated sex crimes were between 13 to 15 years old; 75% were girls and 25% were boys.[12]
  • 14 percent of students in 10th-12th grade have accepted an invitation to meet an online stranger in-person and 14 percent of students, who are usually the same individuals, have invited an online stranger to meet them in-person. [13]
  • 14 percent 7th-9th grade students reported that they had communicated with someone online about sexual things; 11 percent of students reported that they had been asked to talk about sexual things online; 8 percent have been exposed to nude pictures and 7 percent were also asked for nude pictures of themselves online. [14]
  • 59 percent of 7th-9th grade victims said their perpetrators were a friend they know in-person; 36 percent said it was someone else they know; 21 percent said the cyber offender was a classmate; 19 percent indicated the abuser was an online friend; and 16 percent said it was an online stranger.[15]
  • Nine percent of children in 7th-9th grade have accepted an online invitation to meet someone in-person and 10 percent have asked someone online to meet them in-person.[16]
  • 13 percent of 2nd-3rd grade students report that they used the Internet to talk to people they do not know, 11 percent report having been asked to describe private things about their body and 10 percent have been exposed to private things about someone else's body. [17] 
  • A seven-day nationwide fugitive roundup led by the USMS and hundreds of partners from other state, local, and federal agencies led to the arrest of 9,037 individuals .Among those arrested during Operation FALCON II were 1,102 violent sexual offenders, the largest number ever captured in a single law enforcement effort. Operation FALCON II was conducted from April 17-23, 2006" (Department of Justice, More Than 1,100 Sex Offender Arrests By U.S. Marshals' "Operation FALCON II" 27 April 2006).
  • Today, there are nearly 600,000 registered sex offenders in the United States; however, as many as 150,000 are 'lost' in the system having failed to comply with registration duties and remain undetected due to law enforcement's inability to track their whereabouts. (NCMEC, July 26, 2006)

Child Porn Archives

  • Child pornography is a $3-billion industry. (Top Ten Reviews)
  • Child pornography is one of the fastest growing businesses online, and the content is becoming much worse.  (Internet Watch Foundation)  Internet Watch Foundation confirmed 1536 child abuse domains in 2008.
  •  The fastest growing demand in commercial websites for child abuse is for images depicting the worst type of abuse, including penetrative sexual activity involving children and adults and sadism or penetration by an animal.  58% of child sexual abuse images depict this level of abuse. (IWF, 2008)
  •  69% of all victims in child abuse images are between the ages of 0 and 10 years old. (IWF, 2008)
  •  In a study of arrested child pornography possessors, 40 percent had both sexually victimized children and were in possession of child pornography. Of those arrested between 2000 and 2001, 83 percent had images involving children between the ages 6 and 12; 39 percent had images of children between ages 3 and 5; and 19% had images of infants and toddlers under age 3 (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Child Pornography Possessors Arrested in Internet-Related Crimes: Findings from the National Juvenile Online Victimization Study. 2005).
  • The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children revealed, in a June 2005 study, that 40% of arrested child pornography possessors had both sexually victimized children and were in possession of child pornography (also known as "dual offenders"). Both crimes were discovered in the same investigation. Another 15% were "dual offenders" who tried to victimize children by soliciting undercover investigators who posed as minors online. Overall 36% of "dual offenders" showed or gave child pornography to identified victims or undercover investigators posing as minors online. Of those arrested in the U.S. for the possession of child pornography between 2000 and 2001, 83% had images involving children between ages 6 and 12; 39% had images involving children between ages 3 and 5; and 19% had images of infants and toddlers under age 3 (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Child Pornography Possessors Arrested in Internet-Related Crimes: Findings from the National Juvenile Online Victimization Study. Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2005).
  • According to a National Children's Homes report, the number of Internet child pornography images has increased 1500% since 1988. Approximately 20% of all Internet pornography involves children (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Internet Sex Crimes Against Minors: The Response of Law Enforcement. Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2003).
  • According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), child pornography reports increased 39% in 2004. Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC, states that the statistics show a significant and steady increase in child pornography reports for the seventh year. More than 20,000 images of child pornography are posted on the Internet every week (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 10/8/03). More babies and toddlers are appearing on the net and the abuse is getting worse. It is more torturous and sadistic than it was before. The typical age of children is between six and 12, but the profile is getting younger (Prof. Max Taylor, Combating Pedophile Information Networks in Europe, March 2003).
  • N2H2 reported 403 child porn sites, or 67 per month, for the six months of April to September 2000. Child porn sites rose dramatically for the six months of February to July 2001 to 1,391 or 231 per month. That's an increase of 345% at the rate of about 8 per day. (N2H2 Filtering Service Press Release, 8/8/01)
  • 50 percent of those questioned for the Pew Internet and American Life survey ranked child pornography as the Internet crime that concerns them most. (The Pew Internet and American Life Project Survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, 4/2/01)
  • 140,000 child pornography images were posted to the Internet according to researchers who monitored the Internet over six weeks. Twenty children were estimated to have been abused for the first time and more than 1,000 images of each child created (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 10/8/03).
  • More than half of all illegal sites reported to the Internet Watch Foundation are hosted in the United States. Illegal sites in Russia have more than doubled from 286 to 706 in 2002 (National Criminal Intelligence Service, 8/21/03).
  • Demand for pornographic images of babies and toddlers on the Internet is soaring (Prof. Max Taylor, Combating Paedophile Information Networks in Europe, March 2003).
  • Approximately 20 new children appear on the porn sites every month - many kidnapped or sold into sex (Combating Paedophile Information Networks in Europe, March 2003).
  • In the last couple of years, we've just seen such young children on regular seizures - babies, 2-, 3-, 4-year-olds (Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie, Toronto Police Force).
  • The U.S. Customs Service estimates that there are more than 100,000 Web sites offering child pornography - which is illegal worldwide. Revenue estimates for the industry range from about $200 million to more than $1 billion per year. These unlawful sexual images can be purchased as easily as shopping at Amazon.com. "Subscribers" typically use credit cards to pay a monthly fee of between $30 and $50 to download photos and videos, or a one-time fee of a few dollars for single images. (Red Herring Magazine, 1/18/02).