Sexual Extortion of Children in Cyberspace

This paper examines Sexual Extortion of Children in Cyberspace (SECC), which has gained notoriety despite the fact that it has recently emerged, and is also considered one of the most significant online threats to children in 2015 Internet Organized Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) report of Europol. After the characteristics and frequently-observed modus operandi of SECC are described, the points of differentiation and overlap between SECC and other related concepts about online child sexual abuse will be examined. Then, the constituent elements of SECC will be identified and explained in detail; later, possible prevention strategies and research areas will be discussed individually for each one. However, whether SECC should be defined as a separate criminal act and the legal conditions of punishment in the current criminal law systems are completely ignored.

"Prevention strategies and further research for SECC can be classified, evaluated and developed around the constituent elements of this offence. Regarding cyberspace, preventive measures require excessive and constant allocation of money, time, and labor by service providers, parents, and law enforcement. They have a limited field of application and a low chance of success, especially compared to their costs. In addition, no matter how many risky friendships a child may engage in online, he/she will not be a victim of SECC unless his/her sexual images are possessed by an abuser. In this respect, raising awareness among children for safe Internet and device use would be less costly and more effective than preventive measures that might be introduced with regard to the cyberspace." (Açar, 2016, p.122)