what is an online predator?

What is an Online Predator?

The standard online predators definition is: any person, male or female, using the Internet for the express purpose of targeting a minor to perform non-consensual sex acts. They work through anonymity and manipulation. They use the very things that make your child a child, against them. They use emotional vulnerability and the child’s needs to have their emotional point of view validated.

Online predators use the searchable profiles of today’s social media and chat sites to pick and stalk their targets. Children are often not aware that even the most innocent looking photo of a child in their sports jersey can help a stalker target them. Profiles give the predator ammunition and information in his search for a suitable target. (taken from nobullying.com )

What to Watch Out For

  • An online ‘friend’ trying to offer sympathy or empathy
  • Asking if a child is sad or lonely
  • Asking to keep conversations Secret or only between ‘them’
  • Asking to send pictures or anything else regarding sexual curiosity
  • Asking for personal information
  • Giving gifts
online predator

Statistics

  • 1 in 6 online children ages 10-17 received a sexual solicitation or approach in the past year.
  • 1 in 3 online children ages 10 – 17 had unwanted exposure to sexually explicit material in the past year.
  • 1 in 25 children ages 10 to 17 received an online sexual solicitation where the solicitor tried to make offline contact.
  • Less than 10% of sexual solicitations and 3% of unwanted exposures were reported (to authorities, ISP, or a hotline.)
  • 49% didn’t tell anyone – not parents, not authorities, not even friends
  • 70% of kids were at home when they were sexually solicited.

Statistics on Stalking

Stalking is illegal in 50 states. In PA its a first degree misdemeanor; fined up to $10,000, at least 5 years in prison, or both.

  • 1 in 6 women and 1 in 19 men have experienced stalking victimization at some point during their lifetime.
  • The majority of stalking victims are stalked by someone they know. 66% of female victims and 41% of male victims of stalking are stalked by a current or former intimate partner
  • More than half of female victims and more than 1/3 of male victims of stalking indicated that they were stalked before the age of 25

Prevention Tips for Parents

  • 1 in 6 online children ages 10-17 received a sexual solicitation or approach in the past year.
  • 1 in 3 online children ages 10 – 17 had unwanted exposure to sexually explicit material in the past year.
  • 1 in 25 children ages 10 to 17 received an online sexual solicitation where the solicitor tried to make offline contact.
  • Less than 10% of sexual solicitations and 3% of unwanted exposures were reported (to authorities, ISP, or a hotline.)
  • 49% didn’t tell anyone – not parents, not authorities, not even friends
  • 70% of kids were at home when they were sexually solicited.

Prevention Tips for Children and Teens

Stalking is illegal in 50 states. In PA its a first degree misdemeanor; fined up to $10,000, at least 5 years in prison, or both.

  • 1 in 6 women and 1 in 19 men have experienced stalking victimization at some point during their lifetime.
  • The majority of stalking victims are stalked by someone they know. 66% of female victims and 41% of male victims of stalking are stalked by a current or former intimate partner
  • More than half of female victims and more than 1/3 of male victims of stalking indicated that they were stalked before the age of 25

Online Resources for More Info

www.commonsensemedia.org

  • Helps families  make smart media choices, and offer the largest, most trusted library of  independent age-based and educational rating and review for movies, games, apps, TV shows, websites,  books, and music.

File an ‘Internet Crime’ Complaint:

other resources: