Becoming A Victim Online May Take Time

CBS' Larry Magid Points Out Behavior To Avoid Both Online And Off-Line

(CBS)  Becoming a victim of sexual predators on the Web is not a result of being online. It is, very often, a result of online and offline behavior that can be risky.

We were again given a chance to learn that lesson as Alicia Kozakiewicz, now 19 years old, went to Washington and on Oct. 16th, told the House Judiciary Committee about a horrific ordeal at the hands of a sadistic rapist she met in an Internet chat room six years ago.

The story, which was heavily reported on TV, radio and some newspapers, is indeed tragic. According to some press accounts, Kozakiewicz unknowingly stepped into danger when she struck up an online friendship with a person she thought was another young girl.

Legally, the ordeal that ultimately developed for Kozakiewicz was considered to be a case of abduction, because she was held against her will.
But the then 13-year-old victim was not snatched away from her home. Like almost all victims of online predators, she was groomed over a period of time before finally agreeing to an in-person meeting.

I say this not to diminish the intensity of her tragic ordeal but to point out an important lesson in Internet safety.

So far as we know, such crimes are comparatively rare considering the millions of children and teens that go online every day. Despite thousands of arrests of would-be predators caught up in sting operations, tragic cases like this don't appear to occur very often.

If you sense I'm being vague about numbers, it's because there aren't any. No reliable, recent studies document the number of child Internet sex crime victims. We do know that kids are far more likely to be bullied or harassed by peers than molested by predators, and we know that the vast majority of kids who are sexually molested know the perpetrator from the offline world.

We also know from research by the Crimes against Children Research Center (CCRC) at the University of New Hampshire that "the reality about Internet-initiated sex crimes is different, more complex and possibly less frightening than the publicity about them suggests."

According to CCRC, "research makes it clear that the stereotype of the online child molester who uses trickery and violence to assault children is inaccurate." The study reports that "In the great majority of cases, victims are aware that they are conversing online with adults. The offenders seldom pretend to be other teens." The study found that only 5 percent of online molesters deceived victims this way.

In Kozakiewicz's case, the offender was particularly vicious and evil, but even though the teen had no way of knowing she was dealing with a sadistic monster, earlier reports on the incident indicate she was persuaded to run away with him after talking with him hours a night when her parents thought she was in bed.

Her case points to lessons that both parents and teens should learn.
One obvious mistake was agreeing to get together with someone she met on the Internet. Another was engaging in extensive and intimate chat over a period of time.

While not all intimate chat involves a predator, it is a favored tool of adults who prey on kids. They groom their victims over a period of time - sometimes months, through sympathy, flattery and "understanding."

Adult predators use their keyboards to gradually persuade their victims to enter into a relationship and by the time the youth and the adult meet up, the young person usually knows the approximate age of the adult. The notion of a child meeting up with a 40-year-old man who she thinks is a 13-year-old girl, though not impossible, is statistically unlikely.

Research helps isolate certain behaviors that lead to risk. A CCRC study found that youth who "talk online to unknown people about sex, along with youth who had multiple unknown people on their buddy lists, were more likely to be solicited or harassed."

The study also found a connection between a youth's own anti-social behavior and his or her chances of becoming a victim. "Youth who engage in online aggressive behavior by making rude or nasty comments or frequently embarrassing others are more than twice as likely to report online interpersonal victimization."

And despite all of the recent attention on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, the places where young people are most likely to get in trouble are through chat rooms and instant messaging sessions.

For advice on keeping your kids safe on the Internet, please visit ConnectSafely.org, an interactive forum which I help operate.

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A syndicated technology columnist for over two decades, Larry Magid serves as on air Technology Analyst for CBS Radio News. His technology reports can be heard several times a week on the CBS Radio Network. Magid is the author of several books including "The Little PC Book."

[usaprophet]

I want to report a major fire, friends. CBS isn''t reporting it. Our Constitution is on fire. And it''s currently being burned in Congress. See H.R. 1955, a.k.a., Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007. I couldn''t believe it. Apparently, activists with Web sites are really begining to anger the elite insofar as they are publically holding officials accountable for their evil. The bill passed the house on Oct 23, in spite of Congressman, Ron Paul''s opposition. The right to free speech on the Internet is gone, my friends. Look it up for yourself, and weep for your country as I have that our rights have eroded this far. Here''s a short excerpt from the bill''s DEFINITIONS statement: "The development and implementation of methods and processes that can be utilized to prevent violent radicalization, homegrown terrorism, and ideologically based violence in the United States is critical to combating domestic terrorism." Here''s another excerpt from the bill''s FINDINGS statement: "The Internet has aided in facilitating violent radicalization, ideologically based violence, and the homegrown terrorism process in the United States by providing access to broad and constant streams of terrorist-related propaganda to United States citizens." And guess who get''s to decide what is "terrorist-related propaganda?" You got it! The Department of Homeland Insecurity, an agency that''s answerable ONLY to The President. If Ron Paul isn''t elected, our country is doomed!

[micheleisfre]

I agree with MichelleM99.

Parents today are pathetic. They want the world to raise the children they brought into the world. They''ll find their kids in jail bacause they taught them NOTHING.

Get it straight, Parents!
If your child is a victim, it''s YOUR fault.

[michellem99-2009]

saidegrass..oh poor saidegrass.
predators that been doing this sick
way before computer.
Parents too lazy to be parents.
They tell the child to buzz off.
Why did they have children
just dump us on the care of others.
Yet they are taught nothing.
We grow up as children do.
Some are abused by their caretakers.
True we must be careful.
We were robbed of some much
That can never be replaced.
We ask why why why.
We get no answers.
Who will make this a better world.
Greed surely wont.
The Nanny Govt won''t.
What happened to We the people.
There was a song in the 60s called
Teach Your Children.
The parents and teachers
Wake up dears.
Yer on duty.

[tnt1954]

moral of the story: illegalize computers, stay
in the house in the bunker and bomb shelter ten
miles underground from the basement, and grow
food by electric light and hydroponics. and do
it alone. trust no one. cause dr. and mrs. hyde
have cured dr. and mrs. jekyll. and here comes
halloween. morality in media? you''ve got to
be kidding me. lololol. there are private funeral
homes, private cemeteries, shouldn''t we be privatize
coroners too? and privatize courts? and privatize
morgues? and puts cops on commission? like ten
bucks for every murderer you bring in? 20 bucks
for an auto thief. go back to the wanted dead
or alive system? i mean if hunting is always
fashionable? the hunt for the blue moon?
rewards are kinda dumb though. they never pay really. just try and collect. they know those
cons, have your friend be the guilty party,
and split the reward money, with some of it,
hire a real cool lawyer and get him off.
after he''s done six months, then sue the cops
for false arrest. no, the People are not really
in cahoots to loot their own tax monies? of course
not, that would be ''conspiracy to get rich''. a
major felony.