Characterization of the modus operandi of online sex offenders with minors

Abstract

In the first nine months of the year 2023, 44 % of the victims of sexual crimes were minors (Ministerio del Interior, 2023), data likely to generate great social alarm. The present study is based on three samples of sex offenders arrested for the respective crimes of online sexual harassment of minors, the old crime of sexual abuse (prior to the legislative reform in Spain in 2023) and child pornography. The aim was to assess the extent to which the first two used deception and/ or physical and verbal violence. It was also taken into account whether the procedure used by the offender (modus operandi) facilitated the action on a larger number of people. It was also evaluated whether the three types of crime analysed take similar security measures to avoid being identified, and whether the means by which these crimes become known varies. The results showed that, far from confirming the hypothesis about the habitual use of deception by online sexual harassers of minors, they do not always use this means of commission. Moreover, they are not only capable of exercising violence and deception more habitually than child molesters, but also of combining both for the effective consummation of their criminal actions. Finally, it should be noted that the results may be mediated by the evident different origin of the criminal news depending on the specific crime investigated.