Online child sexual offenders' language use in real-time chats

Four included articles described that individuals often presented themselves as a trustworthy confidante as a method of building a deeper emotional connection with the victim and sustaining engagement.

“Four of the included articles described how individuals often presented themselves as a trustworthy confidante as a method of building a deeper, emotional connection with the victim, and sustaining engagement (De Santisteban et al., 2018; Kloess etal., 2019; Powell etal., 2021; Whittle etal., 2015).”

Sharing pornographic material ultimately functioned to increase victims' compliance with subsequent sexualized requests.

“This ultimately functioned to increase victims' compliance with subsequent sexualized requests (Kloess et al., 2017; Powell etal., 2021).”

In three articles, individuals were reported to make 'false' promises to victims as a way of maintaining ongoing engagement, for example, of a typical romantic relationship.

“False Promises. In three articles, individuals were further reported to make 'false' promises to victims as a way of maintaining ongoing engagement (Powell etal., 2021; Seymour-Smith & Kloess, 2021; Whittle etal., 2015), for example, of a typical romantic relationship: 'We could date as boyfriend and girlfriend.' (Powell etal., 2021), swiftly followed by requests for”

Arranging offline contact sometimes served the purpose of engaging in sexual acts/activities in the physical world, but in other instances appeared to be a strategy to maintain victims' online engagement without any intention of transitioning to a physical meeting.

“While in some instances this clearly served the purpose of engaging in sexual acts/activities in the physical world (Chiang, 2018; Powell etal., 2021; Shannon, 2008; Whittle etal., 2015), it appeared to be more of a strategy to maintain victims' online engagement in others, without any intention of transitioning to a physical meeting (Kloess etal., 2017, 2019).”

Some individuals used empathy to build trust, demonstrated through prolonged telephone conversations, providing a space for children to feel listened to and validated, and offering advice.

“Some individuals used empathy to build trust (Powell et al., 2021), demonstrated through actions such as engaging in prolonged telephone conversations, providing a space for children to feel listened to and validated, and offering advice (De Santisteban et al., 2018; Kloess etal., 2019).”

Flattery often directly preceded a sexual request.

“Flattery also often directly preceded a sexual request (Kloess etal., 2019; Powell etal., 2021; Seymour-Smith & Kloess, 2021).”

The use of pressure in order to overcome victims' resistance was observed across five articles.

“Pressure. The use of pressure in order to overcome victims' resistance was observed across five articles (Kloess et al., 2017, 2019; Powell etal., 2021; Seymour-Smith & Kloess, 2021; K. Thomas etal., 2023).”

The manner of sexualizing conversations varied across articles: some individuals used a direct and highly explicit approach, while others opted for a more gradual and suggestive approach.

“However, the manner in which this was done varied across articles. Some individuals used a direct and highly explicit approach (Chiang, 2018; Kloess etal., 2019; Powell etal., 2021), while others opted for a more gradual and suggestive approach (Gámez-Guadix etal., 2021; Kloess etal., 2017, 2019; Seymour-Smith & Kloess, 2021; Shannon, 2008).”

It was evident across three articles that some individuals attempted to normalize sexual relationships between adults and children in order to reduce victims' inhibitions and minimize risk of disclosure.

“Normalizing Sexual Relationships. It was evident across three articles that some individuals attempted to normalize sexual relationships between adults and children in order to reduce victims' inhibitions and minimize risk of disclosure (Kloess etal., 2017, 2019; Powell etal., 2021).”

Across three articles, individuals were found to share pornographic material with victims, which appeared to serve the purpose of desensitizing them to explicit content and familiarizing them with it.

“Sharing Pornographic Material. Across three articles (Kloess et al., 2017, 2019; Powell et al., 2021), individuals were found to share pornographic material with victims, which appeared to serve the purpose of desensitizing them to explicit content, and familiarizing them with it.”

Normalizing sexual relationships involved individuals sharing details of their past sexual experiences with other victims, including emphasizing the child's level of enjoyment and their own level of experience, and thereby presenting themselves as an appropriate sexual partner.

“This involved individuals sharing details of their past sexual experiences with other victims, including emphasizing the child's level of enjoyment and their own level of experience (Kloess etal., 2017; Powell et al., 2021), and thereby presenting themselves as an appropriate sexual partner: 'ive taken a few virginities before. . . .' (Kloess etal., 2019, p. 83).”

Some individuals initiated contact with victims, and sexually exploitative and abusive interactions, by conceding that their demands were improper, which induced feelings of guilt in victims and worked to achieve their compliance while minimizing risk of disclosure.

“In fact, some individuals initiated contact with victims, and sexually exploitative and abusive interactions respectively, by conceding that their demands were improper. This, in turn, induced feelings of guilt in victims, and worked to achieve their compliance to engage in sexual acts/activities, while simultaneously minimizing the risk of disclosure (Powell etal., 2021).”