Predators lurking as children head online
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WHILE our streets, shopping centres and beaches are empty, the dark corners of the web are busy with predators flooding forums, talking about the new opportunities the coronavirus pandemic has given them to prey on the increased number of children now online.
Disturbingly, in one forum, paedophiles reflect on the fact that, with isolation measures in place, they have greater opportunities to contact children remotely to groom them for sexual exploitation, while others observe that they have more time to abuse children.
The distressing chats highlight the horror victims already trapped with their abusers in isolation are facing with one user calling on others to make the most of their opportunity: “Read some of those boy love stories you have saved for a rainy day, interact with your fellow boylovers, enjoy some BT (boy time)”.
Manager of the eSafety Commissioner’s investigations unit Toby Dagg said they were busier than ever trying to disrupt the entanglements of the dark web.
“We are absolutely seeing a surge in forum activity that is specifically devoted to capitalising on this crisis, capitalising on children being home in far greater numbers than they usually are, capitalising on the fact that the parents are going to be distracted, working from home or being frontline workers,” he said.
“That leaves huge opportunity for this incredibly motivated community of offenders to put their well-established methodologies into action.”
Some of the conversations that News Corp Australia has obtained reveal the depths predators will sink to — and the real risk facing children who are now living much of their life online and in isolation.
One user commented on COVID-19 bringing more youth online to platforms such as YouTube, vlog sites, online challenges and Omegle and promised users he had a huge amount of “tasty stuff” to share and gave an indication of the quantity, saying each screenshot he held contained more than 25 videos, both non-nude and nude with many of the boys taking their clothes off.
One user was praised for having only been a member for one month but already becoming by far the most prolific poster of content.
The eSafety Commissioner’s team is tasked with taking down illegal and harmful content online and using their unique skills to understand and analyse the online child sexual abuse networks, with a view to disrupting them.
Even with the amount of material he sees in his day job Mr Dagg said there are times when he finds it hard to grasp the sheer volume of people — “hundreds of thousands and probably millions” whose entire intent is to sexually abuse and exploit children. These are people who share handbooks in how to effectively groom a child online — people who
Use parental controls — software tools that allow you to monitor and limit what your child sees online
Set time limits — ensure a healthy balance between non-school related online activities and offline time
Stay in open areas of the home — device-free zones in the home can help you monitor and manage who your child interacts with online
Know the apps and games your kids are using — check that apps, games and social media sites are age-appropriate
Turn on privacy settings — check the privacy settings on the games and apps your child is using and make sure their profiles are turned on to the strictest privacy setting
Co-view and co-play — remember to take time to co-view and co-play with your children online
more often than not are professional, middle-class men.
“Coming to terms with the fact that, you know, some malign intent exists on such a scale and you think too much about it, it can kind of paralyse you,” he said.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the warning for parents to be careful was timely with many states going into school holidays when children would not have school work to distract them, and parents would be busy.