Sextortion is ‘major growing trend’

Sexual extortion — or sextortion — is a "major growing trend" in the online exploitation of children, according to the EU’s policing agency.

Europol also predicted a rise in the streaming of live images of child abuse, with some paid-for services allowing perpetrators to orchestrate and view the abuse in real time.

An analysis of online crime show underground regions of the internet, such as a darknet, allow users to communicate freely without the risk of being traced.

It said this was of primary interest to criminals who “abuse such anonymity” on a massive scale for illicit online trade in drugs, weapons, stolen goods, forged IDs, and child sexual exploitation.

The Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment said a darknet represents “a significant threat” in combating child sexual exploitation as the anonymity granted by it was a “strong enabling factor” for offenders.

It revealed one operation involving US and Irish authorities in August 2013 took down a darknet operator which hosted websites distributing child abuse material. It said the evidence indicated an increase in computer and security expertise of offenders.

International research indicated white girls were the main victims, 80% of them below the age of 10. There has been an increase in infant victims of sexual abuse and abuse of an extreme and sadistic nature.

The report said that, by exposing their personal details online without proper precautions, either via social media or by sharing sexualised images, children and adolescents were creating the possibility of being targeted by online predators.

It said the popularisation of webcams and chat platforms had enabled the streaming of live images of child abuse. It said some offenders will pay up to €2,360 to “orchestrate and view the abuse of a child in real time”.

It said the abused children were living in deprived economies, typically in eastern Asia, and the abuse was organised by families or communities for money.

The report said this was “likely to be a growth area” as it was difficult to detect and investigate.