ABSTRACT
Unfortunately, criminal justice authorities do not collect information speciªcally about Internet-related crimes.† Because Internet sex crimes against minors remain a recent phenomenon, data about them have not been gathered in a national study.Internet child abductions are not exempt from this lack of tracking or data, nor is there a universally accepted Internet child abduction deªnition, but what limited research there is shows that “violence and abduction is rare in Internet-initiated sex crimes.”‡
Millions of children and teens are on the Internet every day. ey surf and interact on web pages, get their e-mail and chat with their friends, converse through social networks (i.e., Facebook), newsgroups, message boards, guest books, and third-party instant messengers. Most children and teens believe that these interactions are harmless and do not fully realize there may be a devious villain who may be surªng for them.§
Even though law enforcement has made a concerted e˜ort since the year 2000 to monitor crimes being committed on the Internet, they still remain one of the most di¥cult challenges.
