Abstract
The Internet provides private spaces that make it easier to engage in sexual activities, including with minors, and has also facilitated contact with young victims. This chapter looks at the challenges for criminal investigations posed by online sexual offenses against minors. The first challenges are determining how to police clear web networks for child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) and the possible shift of Internet users toward the Dark Web. Recent initiatives to address these issues are reviewed. We then look at the challenges involved in investigating individuals who engage in online sexual solicitation of minors. Not only is it often difficult to determine whether individuals depicted in CSEM are minors, whether the actions pictured indeed constituted abuse, or what constitutes child luring, but complex cases can involve large amounts of data to be analyzed, requiring the mobilization of both financial and human resources. The last section of the chapter offers different alternatives to improve the effectiveness of response in the fight against online sexual offenses targeting minors, suggesting both predictive analysis and the importance of proactive solutions.
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Fortin, F., Paquette, S., Gagné, S. (2021). Challenges and Opportunities in Investigations of Online Sexual Exploitation of Children: Old Networks, Dark Web, and Proactive Response. In: Deslauriers-Varin, N., Bennell, C. (eds) Criminal Investigations of Sexual Offenses. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79968-7_15
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