Online Predators

Online predators are individuals who use the Internet to commit sexual abuse or exploitation of children. They often engage in deceitful communication with minors, aiming to coerce them into illegal sexual activities, which may sometimes lead to face-to-face encounters.

Key characteristics and behaviors of online predators include:

• They typically initiate contact through platforms like chat rooms, instant messaging, social networking sites, gaming consoles, and other online forums, which provide anonymity and easy access to potential victims.
• Predators often manipulate children by building trust and emotional connections, sometimes using promises of love or gifts, to groom them for sexual exploitation.
• Common tactics include engaging in sexual conversations or role-playing, requesting sexually explicit images (sometimes leading to sextortion, where the predator threatens to share these images to coerce further compliance), and pretending to be younger to gain trust.
• Victims are often children aged 12 to 15, who are particularly vulnerable to grooming and manipulation online.
• Many predators are not easily identifiable as criminals; they may appear law-abiding and well-liked in their communities, and in many cases, they are known to the victim’s family.
• The abuse can have severe psychological impacts on victims, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and difficulties in interpersonal relationships.

In summary, online predators exploit the anonymity and accessibility of the Internet to groom and sexually exploit minors, often using manipulation, deception, and coercion to achieve their goals.