How Much Do We Know?: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Online Crime Against Children

• In Event: Technology-Facilitated Crimes Against Children (Organized by Korean Society of Criminology in America (KoSCA) & Sponsored by the Division of Cybercrime (DC))

Abstract

The issue of online child exploitation, such as sexual solicitation of children, child sex trafficking, and child sexual abuse image production and distribution both within and across national borders, has grown at an alarming rate by nearly tripled in the last decade. In this study, we take stock of the online child sexual exploitation peer-reviewed articles (n=86) to provide a comprehensive overview of the characteristics of cases, offenders, and victims from the literature. The proposed systematic review findings may aid in formulating online child predator typology to help the investigation, sentencing, treatment, and supervision of online child predators. We also discuss the theoretical implications of the meta-analytic findings and provide avenues for future research based on the results.

Authors

• Hannarae Lee, Bridgewater State University

• Yulim Kim, Bridgewater State University

• Meghan Rogers, University of Iowa