The guy who threatened to “spread a picture” to an 11-year-old elementary school student …

Cases of digital sex crimes against children and adolescents that have increased Internet use time due to Corona 19 are on the rise. The image is an example of a reconstruction of a social media conversation during the ‘online grooming’ crime against an elementary school student. [사진 서울시]

# A 19-year-old who left a photo and an actor’s dream on social media received a call to appear in a movie. At first, I was suspicious and didn’t respond, but the other party continually offered to show up by sending me contracts and business cards. The other person asked for a profile picture, and among them was a picture of a naked body. Subsequently, the threats to spread photos began. The opponent threatened Ms A, took him to the motel, raped him and asked for money, saying that he would distribute a secret photo taken there.

# Ms B (11), whose parents earn double, has more time to spend at home with a new coronavirus infection (Corona 19), playing more games than before. One day at the game, someone said, “You are very good at playing” and naturally invited me to the chat room asking about your age and where you live. After chatting for about 3 months, the person who reached out emotionally like “I don’t want to hear my mom’s scolding” and “I don’t want to do my homework” started with a picture of the face and asked for a picture of a skirt with a skirt and a photo of legs. When Ms B refused out of fear, she continued to threaten to “spread all the photos sent to her friends on social media.”

C, 14, has also increased internet time thanks to Corona 19. In an open chat room, two men spoke to Ms C and offered to play slave and erotic games. The opponent threatened to receive and distribute photos that were increasingly high-level, saying that it was a game that listened to the wishes of others. It usually takes 3-6 months to get an image through online preparation, but the man who pointed at Ms. C had the image in his hand in a week or so with a game-oriented approach and revealed its true color.

Cases of digital sex crimes against children and adolescents that have increased Internet use time due to Corona 19 are on the rise. The image is an example of a reconstruction of a social media conversation during the ‘online grooming’ crime against an elementary school student. [사진 서울시]

These cases are the cases in which the Seoul Metropolitan Digital Sex Crimes Victims Aid Service collaborated with the police. This is the first case of arrest of a digital sex offender through cooperation between the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the police.

The visiting support escort project was launched in September last year in Seoul for the first time in the country with the aim of preventing digital sex crimes and supporting victims. When the damage is received, it supports the entire process such as debt, preparation of a complaint, statement at the police station and trials, and follow-up management such as psychological treatment after the perpetrator’s arrest.

The perpetrators lured children and teenagers who were staying home due to Corona 19 to play games, mainly in games, chat apps and social media. At first, he provided emotional support by saying that he would make his dream come true or listen to his concerns, formed a trusting relationship, and then exploited photos or videos to threaten him. It is a crime of the so-called “online toilet” method.

Upon receiving Ms. A’s harm, the Seoul Metropolitan Government collected the threatened content and videos, filed a complaint, and submitted it to the police the next day. They accompanied the declaration process and cooperated with the investigation, notifying that it was not the fault of Ms. A. The police arrested the perpetrator after hiding. It took about 5 months to be arrested. The perpetrators were foreign students in their 20s and the investigation resulted in 20 victims. The perpetrator also distributed videos of other victims to friends on social media.

Support for Support Escort Victims Visiting Seoul by Type of Digital Sex Crime (October 2019-August 2020). [사진 서울시]

Support for damages by type of digital sexual offense by supporting escorts visiting Seoul (October 2019-August 2020). [사진 서울시]

Miss B’s case was announced when a mother noticed that her son’s behavior was strange, found a photo in a garbage can to remove unnecessary files from a mobile phone, and sought out a support partner in Seoul. The perpetrator of this incident was a teenage high school student. The support partner provides emotional support not only to B, but also to both parents who blame themselves. Ms. C also found out about the crime when her mother looked at the cell phone chat room. Once again, the perpetrators of this incident were a teenage high school student and a college student in their 20s.

The city of Seoul explained that digital sex crimes targeting children and adolescents are getting too young not only for the victims, but also for the perpetrators. According to the results of the counseling for support companions who visit, the number of child and adolescent victims from October to mid-March of last year was 10, 13.5% of the total victims, but increased to 21 (24.1 %) from mid-March to August of this year. The number of victims of digital sex crimes for children and adolescents increased from 74 to 309.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said that the number of requests for online preparation and illegal filming has increased since the Bang n incident. The city analyzed that the number of requests for damage assistance increased as similar incidents were reported.

Seoul Metropolitan City Sex Crime Digital Reporting Query Counter for Children and Youth. [사진 서울시]

To prevent the second room incident, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the ‘Integrated Support Policy for Specialized Digital Sexual Violence for Children and Youth’ in March and established an anonymous reporting and counseling desk for Kakao Talk ▶ Consultation and education for perpetrators to prevent recurrence ▶ Primary and secondary school students Measures such as education for target prevention were proposed.

KakaoTalk anonymous reporting and counseling can be made from day 6 on Seoul’s online digital sexual violence platform ‘On Seoul Safe (https://www.onseoulsafe.kr)’. You can speak with a professional counselor anonymously on weekdays from 9 am to 10 pm.

Children and adolescents who are victims of digital sex crimes, or parents and teachers who need advice, can consult ‘Visit Support Partners’ (02-2275-2201). Hours of operation are from 10 am to 5 pm on weekdays.

Reporter Choi Eun-kyung [email protected]