Crime - Sexual violence against children online - investigators undercover
The police in North Rhine-Westphalia have been conducting undercover investigations into sexual violence against children on the internet, and 93 proceedings have now been initiated. "The figures clearly show how big and dirty the swamp is in which my investigators are fishing here," said the head of the State Criminal Police Office (LKA), Ingo Wünsch.
Employees of the authority had posed as children on the Internet for over two weeks and communicated with people who sometimes sexually harassed them or tried to coerce them into sexual acts. Cybergrooming is the term used to describe the targeted approach of children online to initiate sexual contact.
Focus on Instagram
The LKA employees focused primarily on the social network Instagram during the current campaign. As a dpa reporter observed during the operation, the specialists operated several accounts at the same time - via which they wrote as "pretend children", primarily with strange men.
In the past, the police mainly used chat forums, where the perpetrators would get down to business within seconds. "Do you want to see me naked?" asked one user in the second sentence under the protection of anonymity. For the campaign weeks, the investigators also deliberately created profiles on Instagram. The network still has little experience. It quickly becomes clear that the perpetrators take more time here than in chat - but the strategies are exactly the same.
"Sometimes they even pretend to be children," says one online investigator: "So when we ask them, how old are you? And we say, for example, 11 or 13, then they often write, yes, me too - or: Yes, I'm 15, is that bad? There are also some who write quite openly: But I'm already 48, bad?" If an offender actually sends a nude photo or asks the "pretend child" to perform sexual acts, everything is secured. Then the suspect has to be brought out of anonymity.
One police officer involved emphasized: "This is just the tip of the iceberg." And: "There could be hundreds, if not thousands of people involved." LKA chief Wünsch said: "No perpetrator should ever feel safe online."
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The investigations into sexual violence against children on Instagram have resulted in 93 criminal proceedings being initiated by the Police in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Cybergrooming is a common tactic used by perpetrators to initiate sexual contact with children online. The State Criminal Police Office (LKA) in NRW warned that this issue is vast and the number of perpetrators could potentially exceed hundreds or even thousands. The LKA has been conducting undercover operations where their employees pose as children and communicate with potential offenders on Instagram. Focusing on Instagram, the offenders take more time to initiate sexual contact compared to chat forums, but their strategies remain the same. One online investigator noted that some perpetrators even pretend to be children themselves.
The police emphasized that no perpetrator should ever feel safe online, and if an offender sends nude photos or asks the "pretend child" to perform sexual acts, they are immediately brought out of anonymity. The LKA has successfully initiated prosecutions against sexual offenders on Instagram, highlighting the importance of addressing online criminality. These investigations serve as a reminder that parents and children must remain vigilant against the dangers faced on social media platforms and the Internet.
Source: www.stern.de
