Deconstructing the Online Grooming of Youth: Toward Improved Information Systems for Detection of Online Sexual Predators

The aggressive online solicitation of youth by online sexual predators has been established as an unintended consequence of the connectedness afforded individuals through social media. Computer science research that has focused on the detection of online sexual predators is scant and absent behavioral theory. We address this gap through examining what behavioral patterns emerge regarding how online sexual predators use language inside of social media to groom youth. Through a grounded theory analysis of ninety Perverted Justice (PVJ) transcripts, of conversations between convicted online sexual predators and PVJ volunteers who posed as youth, we identified five categories of online predator behavior inside of text during victimization of children. Those categories are: assessment, enticements, cybersexploitation, control and self-preservation. The aim of the research is twofold: (a) to improve pattern recognition programming for automated detection software, and (b) to improve educational tools for youth, parents, guardians, educators, and law enforcement.