Online "predators" and their victims: Myths, realities, and implications for prevention and treatment.

There are important differences between online and offline sexual victimization and related adverse experiences, including typical perpetrator-victim dynamics, contexts of contact, and offense characteristics.

“There are important differences between online and offline sexual victimization and related adverse experiences, including typical perpetrator-victim dynamics, contexts of contact, and offense characteristics (13-16).”

Both trajectories can extend into youth's offline lives.

“Both trajectories can extend into youth’s offline lives (15, 78, 79).”

Teens most often encounter unwanted sexual solicitations from seemingly innocuous individuals they meet online or already know in person, rather than from overtly suspicious strangers.

“when in reality, teens most often encounter unwanted sexual solicitations from seemingly innocuous individuals they meet online [54, 92] or already know in person [13, 45, 75].”

Hebephilia may be more widespread among online sexual offenders than pedophilia.

“Third, it was pointed out that hebephilia, i.e., a sexual preference for adolescents, may be more widespread among online sexual offenders than pedophilia, i.e., a sexual preference for children (e.g., Wachs, 2014; Wolak et al., 2008).”

Vulnerabilities to online grooming cannot be attributed to either adolescents' naivete about the internet or ignorance about sex.

“As Wolak et al. (2008) asserts, the vulnerabilities to online grooming cannot be attributed to either adolescents' naivete about the internet or ignorance about sex.”

Young people who use chat rooms and engage in risky behavior are particularly vulnerable to online grooming.

“Young people who use chat rooms and engage in risky behavior are particularly vulnerable to online grooming (Mitchell et al., 2007;Soo & Bodanovskaya, 2012;Wolak et al., 2008).”