May 2007 • www.clinicalpsychiatrynews.com Child/Adolescent Psychiatry 27 Anonymity of Internet Emboldens Predators WORKING BY TIMOTHY F. KIRN operated with the series. Sacramento Bureau The Internet has “allowed all these strangers right into the bedroom,” he said. S AN D IEGO — The Internet is expand- “The access the Internet allows these peo- TRUTHS ing the number of sexual predators who ple is just incredible.” prey on children, because the anonymity Adults tend to use the Internet to access of the computer allows these individuals data, while children tend to use it to make to start indulging their fantasies actively social connections. But children often are with impunity, several speakers said at a not properly supervised, because young conference on sexual and physical abuse of people tend to be more computer literate children. than adults are, Lieut. Bianco said. If there is one thing he has learned And that problem has affected even his from doing a television series about In- own family, which is surprising since he ternet sexual predators, it is that strangers has been involved with the television se- who will attempt to get close to children ries, and everyone in the family is aware of “are not just the guys who would have it, he said. prowled the parks in the past,” said Chris His underage niece lives with his in- Hansen, a television journalist who has laws, who are relatively computer illiter- been doing a series called “To Catch a ate. When he was on their computer re- Predator” for NBC News Dateline. cently, he discovered that his niece was In the series, Mr. Hansen and his col- involved in electronic conversations with leagues pose as young girls interested in a number of adult men, he said. sex who converse in Internet chat rooms The Internet and its clandestine oppor- and try to lure the men to a house where tunities probably are bringing about an ex- the cameras and the police await them. Adults with ADHD So far, they have caught men from all occupations, in- cluding teachers, were 3x more likely doctors, a New York City firefight- 1 er, and even a rabbi, to be unemployed* Mr. Hansen noted at the conference, which was spon- sored by the Chad- wick Center for NBC Children and Fami- The consequences may be serious. ATELINE lies at Children’s D Hospital and “Dateline’s” Chris Hansen confronts a potential online sexual Screen for ADHD. Health Center, San predator during an investigation in Petaluma, Calif. Diego. Mr. Hansen said he was astounded at plosion of child pornography as well, the number of men coaxed to the houses which directly contributes to the problem Find out more at the network has developed for the series. of predation, said Ms. Regina B. Schofield, In addition, he’s been amazed by how an assistant attorney general in the U.S. www.consequencesofadhd.com varied the backgrounds of the men have Department of Justice. been. She said that the initial estimate of the and download patient support materials, The series has set up houses in nine number of pornographic images of chil- cities so far and has caught hundreds of dren available on the Internet was about coupons, and adult screening tools. men. In Long Beach, Calif., for example, 100,000. Now, data indicate that there are 51 men have been arrested for their In- probably 3.5 million images, and Internet ternet chats and for showing up at the child pornography is thought to be a $20 house; 12 of them already have pleaded billion a year industry. no contest. When investigators have interviewed The rabbi caught by the series, David those arrested for having child pornogra- * Data compiled from a study comparing the young adult adaptive outcome of Kaye, in Fairfax County, Va., may have phy, those individuals have said they used nearly 140 patients (ADHD and non-ADHD control) followed concurrently for been the most surprising and illustrates the images for masturbation and also as at least 13 years. how the Internet is widening the ranks of fuel to help act out their fantasies, Ms. Reference: 1. Barkley RA, Fischer M, Smallish L, Fletcher K. Young adult outcome of hyperactive children: child predators, Mr. Hansen said. Schofield said. adaptive functioning in major life activities. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2006;45:192-202. The rabbi had no previous record of sex- One of the solutions to the problem is ual misconduct, and he had been involved that parents and caretakers need to talk in work with Jewish high school students. with their children and remind them of Mr. Kaye, recently sentenced to 6 years the dangers of the Internet—as well as the in federal prison, will have his name on inappropriateness of communications a sexual predators list for at least 10 with unknown adults, Lieut. Bianco and Shire US Inc. years. the other speakers said. ... your ADHD Support Company™ Law enforcement officials estimate that Turning off the computer at home is there may be as many as 50,000 sexual not protection enough, because anyone ©2006 Shire US Inc., Wayne, Pennsylvania 19087 A1408 10/06 predators of children online, said Lieut. can go down to the local coffee shop and Chad Bianco of the Riverside County access a wireless connection, the speakers (Calif.) Sheriff’s Department, which co- said. ■