Table of Contents
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 UNESCO: Internet pedophilia risks weighed
Child pornography banned in Japan
German police develop Internet crime-buster
UNICEF Convention on the Rights of the Child
Study links drug use to child abuse
French Cops Make Pedophilia Sweep
Two Men Executed for Child Assault
Some Moms Let Sex Abuse Slide
New Therapy for Deviant Sexual Behavior
US Crime: Travel Abroad to Sexually Abuse Children
Bill Would Require Schools to Report Sex Abuse
Law Enforcement "Victim Training" in the Phillipines
Adjudicating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse When Custody is in Dispute
Pedophiles Surfing the Internet to Find Victims
U.S. Judge Backs Law Against Child Pornography
Luring Law Supported by Free Speech Advocates
Internet Sex Crimes Task Team
Sex Offender Notification Law Protects Children
Germany launches offensive on child sex crimes
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UNESCO: Internet Pedophilia Risks Weighed
Source: Associated Press, By Marilyn August, January 19, 1999. Excerpts:
PARIS (AP) - A UNESCO conference urged Internet providers and parents Tuesday to combat pedophilia on the Internet but stopped short of calling for the global legal framework many had hoped for. Some of those attending the conference of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said the recommendations, passed by 325 experts from 40 countries, were not tough enough.
"The plan of action doesn't deal with the specific dangers of child pornography and pedophilia in cyberspace," such as chat groups, said Debbie Mahoney, president of California-based Safeguarding Our Children - United Mothers. Before, pedophiles were isolated, said Mahoney, whose 10-year-old son was abused 37 times by a neighbor. "Now they are online, telling each other that they're OK."
But experts said they ran into the problem of differing definitions of pornography throughout the world, and different ages of consent. "It is difficult to come up with common standards when we don't even have an internationally established definition of child pornography," said Ofelia Calcetas-Santos of the Philippines, a U.N. expert on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
The UNESCO conference, which ended Tuesday, called for self-regulation among Internet providers to prevent children from becoming victims of abuse and to make sure the 15 million kids surfing the Internet don't see the sordid scenes of child pornography accessible on many Web sites. The plan of action also calls for UNESCO to play a key role in collecting and diffusing legal information concerning pedophilia and child pornography online. And it calls for close cooperation among governments, international agencies, the computer industry, educators and the media.
The plan recommends that parents use filters and screening tools and calls for aggressive information campaigns about the long-term harm suffered by sexually abused children. It also urges the creation of national hot lines and an international "electronic watch tower" where abused children and their families can turn for immediate help.
"UNESCO has a real, vital role to play in forcing the Internet service providers to confront the issues," said Agnes Fourier de Saint-Mauri, who heads Interpol's special group on crimes against minors. The emphasis on self-regulation among providers disappointed some attendees. Malta Marcovich, of France's Movement Against Pornography and Prostitution, called it "ridiculous." "We have laws against the incitement of racial hatred. We need similar laws to combat the incitement of child pornography and pedophilia," Marcovich said.
Child Pornography Banned in Japan
Source: Yahoo News, AP, May 18, 1999. Excerpts:
TOKYO - Japan's lower house of Parliament today banned the production and sale of child pornography and outlawed sex with a minor, answering mounting criticism over the country's lax sex-crime laws. The new law bans the sale, distribution, production, possession and trading of child pornography and imposes punishments of up to three years in prison or fines of up to $24,400 for violators. The legislation also makes it illegal to have sex with a minor 17 or younger. Violators will face a prison term of up to three years and fines of up to $8,100.
German Police Develop Internet Crime-Buster
Source: Reuter News, May 17, 1999. Excerpts:
BONN (Reuters) - German police are developing an Internet search engine that will home in on illegal activity on the Web, including pedophile networks and neo-Nazi propaganda, and lead detectives to those who publish or even view such sites, an official said Monday. "It should make it easier for the police to pinpoint criminal content on the Internet, secure evidence and identify the senders and addressees," Deputy Interior Minister Claus Henning Schapper told a conference on Internet security in Bonn. "Using it, we want to contain the spread of, for example, politically extreme matter or, highly important, child pornography over the Internet."
UNICEF Convention on the Rights of the Child
Source: UNICEF Convention on the Rights of the Child, January 19, 1999. Excerpts:
The United Nations, particularly through its UNICEF Children's Agency
condemns the sexual exploitation of children by adults as a violation of
the Rights of the Child. Pedophilia is not recognized as a human nor a
civil right, nor entitled to any legal protection.
Article 34 of this Convention states:
States Parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual
exploitation and sexual abuse. For these purposes, States Parties shall in
particular take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral
measures to prevent:
(a) The inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual
activity;
(b) The exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful
sexual practises;
(c) The exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and
materials.
Also see ~ Parental Child Abduction is Child Abuse, by Nancy Faulkner, Ph.D, presented to the United Nations Convention on Child Rights in Special Session, June 9, 1999.
Study Links Drug Use to Child Abuse
Source: The Associated Press, January 11, 1999. Excerpts:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Parental drug and alcohol abuse is largely responsible for a surge in child abuse and neglect, according to a report that urges more government spending to treat addicted parents. "Child abuse walks hand in hand with drug abuse and alcohol abuse," said Joseph Califano, the center's president and a former secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. "If we're serious about doing something about child abuse and neglect, we better get serious about alcohol (and drug) abuse."
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse said in its report Monday that providing treatment for addicted parents would reduce the need to remove children from their families. The Child Welfare League of America, which represents child welfare workers, agreed with the report's premise. Its research estimates that 40 percent to 80 percent of parents in the system have a drug or alcohol problem, depending on the community.
French Cops Make Pedophilia Sweep
Source: Yahoo, December 3, 1998. Excerpts:
PARIS (AP) - Dozens of people were detained and 3,000 child pornography videos were seized in a nationwide sweep this week as French police tried to crack a pedophilia network. Some two dozen of the 55 people detained Wednesday were placed under formal investigation - one step short of being charged - for receiving videos of child pornography, police said Thursday. About 130 investigators took part in the sweep across 34 regions of France. Police said they were acting on a tip by one of four men arrested last year on pedophilia charges. The four men were arrested in Aveyron, southern France.
Two Men Executed for Child Assault
Source: Reuter News, June 18, 1998. Excerpts:
DUBAI, Saudi Arabia - According to state-run Saudi television, two men were convicted and executed for abducting a boy and committing "obscene acts'' with him. Saudi Arabia applies strict Islamic sharia law by publicly beheading convicted murders, rapists, drug smugglers and other criminals. There have been eleven executions in the kingdom so far this year. Approximately 125 people were executed last year, mostly for murder or drugs smuggling.
Some Moms Let Sex Abuse Slide
They Hope to Shield Partners; Kids Suffer
Source: Salt Lake Tribune, Tom Zoellner, Jan. 28, 1998. Excerpts:
When police and prosecutors try to arrest a child molester, they sometimes face an unlikely adversary -- the victim's mother. "It's one of the most tragic things we see," said Marcia Atkin, assistant district attorney for Salt Lake County. "The children know what their mothers are doing. The effect on children will last the rest of their lives. They will never be able to trust anybody they love ever again."
Mothers are even able to convince their children to refuse to cooperate with investigators, or even recant the allegations. There is no way to tell how many sex-abuse cases are remaining a secret because of the silence of the mother. "It's a devastating experience for a child because they're not only being abused, they're being abandoned," said Chicago therapist Nina Corwin, who counsels adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
A woman's loyalty to her mate may even lead her to choose to live with him rather than her children. When faced with a court order requiring a removal of the suspect from the home, roughly 10 percent of mothers choose to surrender their children to foster care rather than kick their men out of the house, estimates Darcy Cole, a caseworker for the Utah Division of Children and Family Services. Some mothers disown their partners on the spot when they learn their children have been abused. If 15 percent of mothers are impeding police investigations, Corwin said, then an overwhelming 85 percent are doing the right thing.
New Drug Therapy for Deviant Sexual Behavior
Source: New York Times, Warren Leary, Feb. 12, 1998. Excerpts:
Some researchers report that triptorelin, a new type of testosterone-reducing drug, coupled with psychotherapy, greatly reduces desire among men to molest children and engage in other deviant sexual behavior. In a report published in The New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers said that triptorelin sharply reduced blood levels of the male hormone testosterone, and did so with fewer adverse side effects to the patient than other testosterone-lowering chemicals.
Dr. Richard B. Krueger, medical director of the Sexual Behavior Clinic of the New York State Psychiatric Institute said, "There are many different kinds of paraphilia and such drugs might not work for all of them." Male sex offenders in the United States are sometimes treated with Depo Provera. Using Depo Provera to treat sex offenders is legal, but it has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for this purpose.
US Crime: Travel Abroad to Sexually Abuse Children
Source: Press release by Casa Alianza, 02/98. Excerpts:
Casa Alianza, a large non-profit working with street children in Latin America, has announced a new phase of cooperation with the FBI and the US Justice Dept. to catch American child sexual abusers in Central America. According to Title 18, Section 2423, a federal statute in the US, it is a crime for any American citizen to travel abroad with the intent to sexually abuse children. Sentences can be up to 10 years of imprisonment plus fines of US$ 250,000.
"We have noticed a significant increase in the number of cases of sexual abuse against street boys and girls, perpetrated by foreigners who travel to the countries we work with," explained Bruce Harris, Regional Director of the Casa Alianza Programs for Latin America. "Among this group of foreigners, the number of Americans is rising. This seems to indicate that Central America is being seen as a haven for sick adults who wish to sexually abuse small children. This has become a very real and urgent problem." In one case in Costa Rica, a Costa Rican man and his American wife have been locally prosecuted and accused of having a brothel exclusively for foreigners, in which they often used underage girls.
Casa Alianza, with its regional office in Costa Rica, offers programs for abandoned children in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, serving more than 4,400 homeless children each year. Casa Alianza is presently dealing with more than 540 legal cases going through the courts in the various countries it works with.
The problem of abuse by foreigners is not limited to American perpetrators. Casa Alianza reports other cases by Chilean, Mexican, and various other nationalities. Although some of the cases are prosecuted locally, "in many cases there isn't even an arrest of the perpetrator, because of the bribes given to local police and other authorities, " reports Harris.
The Dept. of Justice in the US is gathering the names and addresses of Americans who sexually abuse children abroad and this information is then passed on to local police authorities when such individuals return to the US. "We want to send a very clear message to all Americans who come to Central America with the intent to sexually abuse street children, or any other child," warned Harris. "Casa Alianza, with the support of the FBI, will come after you. Don't do it. See a psychologist instead."
Bill Would Require Schools to Report Sex Abuse
Source: Associated Press, January 28, 1998. Excerpts:
ALBANY, N.Y. - Donna Covello, a woman who was sexually abused by a high school official more than two decades ago, wants the state to pass legislation that might prevent similar abuse from happening to other students. Covello testified at a state Senate hearing to show her support for a bill to establish procedures for reporting and investigating child abuse at schools. The bill would eliminate so-called "quiet resignations.'' Sen. Stephen Saland, a Poughkeepsie Republican who is sponsoring the abuse reporting bill in his house, said "quiet resignations'' allow those involved in child abuse allegations to step down and seek employment in other districts.
The new law would require school officials to report abuse allegations to outside law enforcers. Currently, only New York City school officials are required to report misconduct to the special commissioner, Saland said. Also, fingerprint-based criminal history checks would be conducted on all current and future public school employees.
Law Enforcement "Victim Training" in the Phillipines
Source: AFP, November 9, 1997. Excerpts:
British police experts are beginning month long training course for Filipino police officers on how to deal with child and female victims of abuse, said the British embassy. "Twenty-one participants will spend four weeks learning the latest methods of investigating cases of child abuse and domestic violence, dealing with child victims, and searching and forensic techniques," an embassy statement said.
Britain and the Philippines have been working together to fight sexual abuse of children and women including transcontinental sex tour operators who offer Third World child prostitutes to Western paedophiles. The two countries signed an agreement in August for British police experts to train local police in investigation techniques and in dealing with child abuse cases and also for an exchange of intelligence on known and suspected child abusers.
Chief Inspector Laszlo Szomoru, of the Durham Constabulary, said the training course aims to teach local police officers how to handle women and child victims with sympathy to encourage them to file charges. "These victims are already abused once. The investigator must take care not to add to their abuse by the manner in which they are treated," Szomoru said. "International cooperation like this will help the agencies get the edge over abusers."
New Training Curriculum for Judges on Adjudicating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse When Custody is in Dispute
Source: ABA on Child Law, November 11, 1997. Excerpts:
A two-volume curriculum, entitled "Adjudicating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse When Custody is in Dispute," has just been published by the American Bar Association (ABA) on Child Law. This curriculum promotes the fair administration of justice by improving the courts' ability to assess child sexual abuse allegations in the context of custody and visitation disputes; and to help judges make custody and visitation decisions that reflect the best interests of the child.
Pedophiles Surfing the Internet to Find Victims
Source: Orlando Sentinel, November 8, 1997. Excerpts:
The information superhighway is rapidly becoming the favorite route for child predators to reach and abuse children, law enforcement officials told Congress Friday. According to testimony at a hearing of the House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee, as more homes have access to the Internet, it is easier for predators to trade child pornography, and to abuse youngsters they meet online.
Predators use chat rooms to engage in typed conversation under assumed names, said Stephen Wiley, head of the FBI Violent Crimes Major Offenders Section. Predators will send child pornography images over the Internet to lower their inhibitions of youngsters before trying to meet them for sex or to take pornographic pictures, said Orlando FDLE agent Rehman, who specializes in investigating computer child exploitation. After identifying a victim, the predator, who sometimes poses online as a teenager, tries to develop a relationship that will ultimately become sexual.
Recent cases of children who have been lured by people they met over the Internet have led to tragedy. A 15-year-old boy, Sam Manzi, was sexually assaulted by a 43-year-old man he met in an America Online "chat room." Manzi was subsequently accused of sexually assaulting and murdering an 11-year-old boy.
Wiley said the online problem has gotten so bad that a special initiative called "Innocent Images'' has been set up to catch people who use the Internet to exploit children. "While parents strive to warn their children about the dangers outside of the home, they may be failing to warn their children about the dangers within -- on the World Wide Web,'' said Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Longwood, chairman of the subcommittee.
U.S. Judge Backs Law Against Child Pornography
Source: Reuter News, August 13, 1997. Excerpts:
SAN FRANCISCO - A federal judge has ruled that a law outlawing computer-generated child pornography is constitutional. The Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 expanded the definition of child pornography, outlawing "any visual depiction" that "is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct." Judge Conti said the law was enacted specifically to combat the use of computer technology to produce pornography that conveys the impression that children were used in the photographs or images.
The Free Speech Coalition, a trade association representing the adult entertainment industry, joined several other people, in an attempt to say the law would ban "a wide array of sexually-explicit, non-obscene material that has serious literary, artistic, political and scientific value."
According to Judge Conti: "The court finds that the Child Pornography Prevention Act is not overbroad. It specifies that only materials that do not use adults and that appear to be child pornography, even if they are digitally produced, are prohibited. It is highly unlikely that the types of valuable works plaintiffs fear will be outlawed under the Child Pornography Prevention Act -- depictions used by the medical profession to treat adolescent disorders, adaptations of sexual works like 'Romeo and Juliet' and artistically-valued drawings and sketches of young adults engaging in passionate behavior -- will be treated as 'criminal contraband'."
Luring Law Supported by Free Speech Advocates
Source: New York Times Online, October, 1997. Excerpts:
The censorship law that is not being opposed by the ACLU is the NY statute that makes it a crime to disseminate indecent material online to minors for the specific purpose of inducing them to engage in sexual acts (Penal Law 235.22., effective 11/01/96). The ACLU accepts the "luring law" because it is aimed at preventing criminal solicitations. "If a (child molester) used candy to lure, you could criminalize activity that, too," says Chimes in Ann Beeson, staff lawyer for the ACLU. That ban would not be an improper restriction on the use of candy.
Justice Alan Marrus of the NY State Supreme Court said that while an anti-indecency law might violate the First Amendment, an indecency rule paired with a luring provision was valid. "It is this luring element that, in this court's view, saves the statute from constitutional infirmity," Marrus wrote. "The State of New York should have the power to punish anyone who sends sexually explicit material over the Internet to a minor (or someone who appears to be a minor) and then seeks to lure that child to perform a sexual act within the State," he said.
Internet Sex Crimes Task Team
October 8, 1997 -- Excerpts:
New York State Attorney General Dennis Vacco will head a nationwide task force aimed at ridding the Internet of kiddie porn. "The modern-day pedophile has discovered the Internet ... and is using the technology to ply his trade," Vacco said. "It is time to sign off these vile perverts before they can victimize any more of our young children."
Representatives of the attorneys general of each state will participate in the task force, which will hold its first meeting in Manhattan on November 13, 1997.
According to Vacco, "Since Internet sex crimes frequently cross state lines, cooperation among law-enforcement officials is crucial in nabbing porn traffickers." Vacco's office set up an Internet and Computer Unit last year, which uses undercover investigators to hook up with suspected predators in online chat rooms. To date, the Unit's efforts have resulted in about 120 arrests internationally.
Sex Offender Notification Law Protects Children
Source: Miami Herald, October 15, 1997. Excerpts:
ORLANDO -- A mother, suspicious of the attention a man was showing her 10-year-old son, recently checked state records and learned that the man was a convicted child molester. The information would not have been available prior to the Florida law that expanded efforts to register convicted and released sex offenders in the communities where they live, said Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner James T. Moore. According to Moore, "The information is only as good as the public's access to it.''
The 1997 law requires Florida's 8,400 convicted sex offenders to register with local police departments. Police agencies are required by law to notify the community, as opposed to merely having that option. Sex offenders move into a neighborhood must contact the local FDLE or sheriff's office within 48 hours. The FDLE enters the offender's name into a file that is available to other law enforcement agencies and posts the information on the Internet. Failure to register is a felony. If an offender moves, he is required to alert the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles within 48 hours of changing addresses. "Their stock and trade is anonymity. This takes their anonymity away,'' Moore said.
The FDLE has also added the sexual offenders' names and current addresses to a database that can be obtained through the agency's Website or a toll-free number. A person looking up the information can find an offender's name, address, age, photo and crime. Florida is one of the first states to make that information available online.
"The main message behind this is information is power,'' said Patty Wetterling, whose 11-year-old son was abducted eight years ago in Minnesota. Mrs. Wetterling pushed for federal legislation in 1994, requiring states to maintain a registry of sex offenders. States that fail to have one in place by 1999 could lose federal funds.
The U.S. Justice Department is currently compiling a national database of sex offenders. Fourteen states, including Florida, are participating in the database, said Dena T. Sacco, an attorney in the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Policy Development.
Link Here for Sex Offender Registers for Other States
Germany Launches Offensive on Child Sex Crimes
Source: Reuter News, July 29, 1997. Excerpts:
BONN -- "We know children are abused daily in Germany and worldwide," Youth Minister Claudia Nolte told a news conference. "The German government has set itself the challenge to fight this with every means possible." Nolte urged passage of a law that would allot funds for training teachers, police officers, lawyers, medical personnel and tour guides to make them more aware of the problems of child sex abuse. Her ministry also launched educational films, comics and pamphlets for children and parents.
It is estimated that 200,000 German men travel abroad each year in search of sex, many seeking girls under 14. Bonn passed a law allowing Germany to convict its citizens for having sex with minors abroad (1993). Nolte called for more cooperation among countries to combat child pornography and sex tourists. "We will only win the fight through unified action by those responsible for protecting children," Nolte said. "That means all of us."
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