Online Obscenity and Child Sexual Abuse
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
Mohamed Chawki, Ashraf Darwish, Mohammad Ayoub Khan and Sapna TyagiCybercrime, Digital Forensics and JurisdictionStudies in Computational Intelligence59310.1007/978-3-319-15150-2_66. Online Obscenity and Child Sexual Abuse
(1)
International Association of Cybercrime Prevention (AILCC), Paris, France
(2)
Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt
(3)
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology, Sharda University, Greater Noida, India
(4)
College of Computer Science and Engineering, Yanbu Branch, Taibah University, Medina, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
(5)
Institute of Management Studies, Ghaziabad, India
6.1 Introduction
The investigation of cybercrime and the gathering of appropriate evidence for a criminal prosecution, the science of “forensic computing”, “digital forensics”, or “cyber forensics”, can be an extremely difficult and complex issue (Walden 2007, p. 205). This is primarily due to the intangible and often transient nature of data, especially in a networked environment. Technology renders the process of investigation and recording of data for evidence extremely vulnerable to defense claims of errors, technical malfunction, prejudicial interference or fabrication (Ibid). Such claims may lead to a ruling from the court against the admissibility of such evidence.
A lack of adequate training of law enforcement officers, prosecutors and, indeed, the judiciary, will often exacerbate these difficulties. In many countries, substantial efforts have been made over recent years to address this training need, with the establishment of specialized facilities and courses, supplemented by training courses offered by the vendors of forensic applications and services (Ibid). The true problem of the information and communications era therefore seems to be the determination of exactly how much value should be attached to a given piece of information, especially when that information is stored electronically and digitally (Van der Merwe et al. 2008, p. 104).
In the past, when law enforcement investigated a crime, the investigators who analyzed the evidence used to present it to the judge to assist him in taking the correct decision. Criminal investigation training courses always include some forensics in order to understand what prosecutors and judges require in regard to evidence (Wang 2007, p. 217). As the primary focus is on the collection and preservation of effective evidence, at a computer-based crime scene, the highest attention must be given to specifying digital evidence. The major feature which distinguishes cyber-crime from conventional crime is that the evidence at the crime scene is represented in electronic form. This also makes it easier for the criminal to store, conceal, propagate and remove the information and makes it more difficult to identify him/her (Ibid).
In sexual offences, the internet may be involved in a number of ways, resulting in many sources of digital evidence. It can be an instrumentality when it plays an important role in the commission of the crime, such as enticement of children to engage in sexual activity (Ferraro et al. 2005, p. 4). Durkin also highlights the way in which the internet can be utilized by sex offenders to disseminate images for personal and/or commercial reasons; or to engage in inappropriate sexual communication with children and/or to locate children to abuse. Lanning suggests that abusive images downloaded from the internet may be used to desensitize and/or lower inhibitions in an offender or victim prior to or during an offence (Beech et al. 2008, p. 217). The “stickiness” of data is attributable, in part, to the multiple copies generated by the communications process, particularly in an internet environment, as well as the manner in which data is held and removed on electronic storage media. While the “stickiness” of data will work to the advantage of an investigator, the availability of data may not enable a successful prosecution where the defendant is unaware of its existence. Conversely, the widely held perception that data held on an ICT resource is transient may work to the advantage of a defendant, where he can raise doubt as to the existence or otherwise of relevant forensic data.
6.2 The Role of the Internet in Promoting Child Sexual Abuse
In Britain, the UK Cybercrime Report (2008), commissioned by online criminology firm 1871 Ltd, suggested that more than 3,543,300 offences were committed online in 2007. To date there have been 830,000 instances of sex crimes—where individuals were cyber-stalked or received unwanted sexual approaches by pedophiles (Garlik 2008, p. 5). The arrest of 90 offenders in an online child pornography ring in France highlights the extent of this malaise. The roots of the operation go back to December 2004, when a site containing pornographic pictures and videos of children first came to the attention of French national police. The creator, from the northern town of Clermont (Oise), was just 17-year old at the time when he set up the site. Even though he was arrested in May 2005, the pictures and videos were still on the Net and others were downloading and sharing material from his server; proof as far as the police were concerned, that there was an “organized network in place” for diffusing child pornography. Police seized computers with one of them alone containing more than 30,000 images of young children (France Today 2009).
The impact and role of the internet in the production, dissemination and collection of child pornography have been assessed by a number of authors in recent years and there is a general consensus that “the internet has increased the range, volume, and accessibility of sexually abusive imagery, including child pornography” (Akdeniz 2008, p. 1). The internet has undoubtedly escalated the problem of child pornography by increasing the amount of material available, the efficiency of its distribution, and the ease of its accessibility. The problem of internet child pornography can be divided into three components—the production, distribution, and downloading of images. In some cases, the same people are involved in each stage. However, some producers and/or distributors of child pornography are motivated solely by financial gain and are not themselves sexually attracted to children.
6.2.1 Production of Pornographic Content
This involves the creation of pornographic images. Collectors place a premium on new child pornography material (Wortley 2006, p. 9). However, many images circulating on the internet may be decades old, taken from earlier magazines and films. Images may be produced professionally, and, in these cases, often document the abuse of children in third-world countries (Wortley 2006, p. 9). Abusive images of children available on the internet range from every day or ‘accidental’ naked images of children to depictions of gross acts of indecency against a child or children, such as penetrative sexual intercourse, sadistic acts of brutality, and bestiality, with victims varying in age from babies to teenagers.1 Abusive images of children can also be manifested in the form of non-real or pseudo-images, including lifelike virtual abusive images without the use of actual children at all and/or those that mix different aspects and/or combinations of separate pictures to suit the user’s preferences (Beech et al. 2008, p. 221). Four typical methods are used in the creation of pseudo-images: (1) an image of a child is inappropriately sexualized (e.g., clothes removed); (2) aspects of a sexualized image of an adult is given child-like qualities (e.g., reduction in breast size, removal of pubic hair); (3) an image of a child is superimposed onto a sexualized picture of an adult or child (e.g., a child holding a toy can be superimposed in a way that makes it appear that the child is holding a man’s penis); or (4) a montage of abusive images can be created (Beech et al. 2008, p. 221).
6.2.2 Distribution and Sharing
The World Wide Web is a very attractive way of distributing information. It is also possible to set up a website that can generate revenue by selling services by subscription. The distribution of child abuse material are facilitated through commercial websites, user- generated websites and peer-to-peer/file sharing network (Kierkegaard 2008, p. 42). Offenders buy sexual pictures of minors and one can even order a live online molestation of a real child and infant for viewing. The prevalence of home video production facilitates the ease of making and posting sexual images online. Internet sex trading, where teenagers are offered goods or money in exchange for sexual favors, is on the rise (Kierkegaard 2008, p. 42). The international policing agency Interpol’s Child Abuse Image Database (ICAID)—a global database for the forensic analysis of digital images of child abuse—currently contains more than 520,000 images and has been used to identify 680 victims worldwide (Elliott et al. 2009, p. 181).
In United States v. Reedy 2000, US Postal Inspectors found the Landslide website advertising child pornography photos. The Texas company associated with the site, Landslide Productions, Inc., was owned and operated by Thomas and Janice Reedy. The US Department of Justice estimated that the Reedys made more than $1.4 million from subscription sales of child pornography in the 1 month that the Landslide operation was in business. Customers could subscribe to child pornography websites through a Ft. Worth post office box, or via the internet (Casey 2004, p. 483). Landslide also offered a classified ads section on its site, allowing internet users to respond to personal ads for child pornography. Although related digital evidence was located in Russia and Indonesia, when investigators obtained Thomas Reedy’s computer they found more than 70 images of child pornography and a list containing the identities of thousands of Landslide customers around the world. Thomas Reedy was sentenced to life in prison, and Janice Reedy to 14 years in prison (Casey 2004, p. 484).
On the other hand, a new market for sex work has developed online with the advent of live sex shows broadcasted via webcams (Doring 2009, p. 1094). Some professional female sex workers have reported that their activity in cybersex shows is much more comfortable and safe than the prostitution they previously practiced on the street or in hotels. A potential risk is faced by minors who voluntarily chose to enter into the seemingly unproblematic online sex business with excessive haste, overestimating the financial rewards, while underestimating the negative psychological and social effects. To overcome police tracing, some websites use redirection to forward the customer to a completely different server so that law enforcement must retain alert and verify which sever they are connected to when examining digital evidence.
Newsgroups also provide internet users with a forum to discuss their sexual interests in children and to post child pornography. This service consists of several tens of thousands of themed “groups” in which any of a very large number of topics of interest are discussed offline. Participants do not interact in real time but “post” messages of interest to the group, which others may comment upon. Participants pop into the service every now and then to see how the discussions are progressing. Offenders may use this global forum to communicate with a huge audience, to exchange information and to commit crimes, including defamation, harassment, stalking, and solicitation of minors (Casey 2004, p. 485). A system of news-servers and a particular internet protocol takes care of worldwide distribution. A small number of newsgroups are devoted to pedophilia.
On October 16th, 1996, Sharon Rina Lopatka, an internet entrepreneur in Hampstead, was killed in a case of apparent consensual homicide. Lopatka was tortured and strangled to death by a man who she met on the internet first through Usenet and then in a BDSM channel on IRC. Interestingly, nobody who knew her in person, including her husband, suspected that she was involved in this type of activity. On January 27th, 2000, the offender pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, as well as six counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. He was sentenced to 36–53 months in prison and 21–26 months for possession of child pornography.
In addition P2P file sharing technology provides internet users with the potential to share local files with a potentially unlimited number of other users. Although one of the main drivers for the development of the technology was the sharing of music (MP3) files, as in Napster, offenders have also found the technology convenient in their own activities. When a file is being downloaded from a peer, the associated IP address can be viewed using netstat. However, some peer-to-peer clients can be adjusted to connect through a SOCK proxy to conceal the peer’s actual IP address. KazaA has one feature that can be beneficial for law enforcement. Whenever possible, it obtains files from peers in the same geographic region. Therefore, if investigators find a system with illegal materials, there is a good chance that it is nearby (Casey 2004, p. 489).
Furthermore, live conversations between users on the internet exist in many formats and take place 24 h a day. One of the largest chat networks is Internet Relay Chat (IRC), started in 1988 (Casey 2004, p. 486). IRC can be accessed by anyone on the internet using free or low-cost software. On “chat”, participants have a significant degree of anonymity, using nicknames and often adopting online personalities different from their real ones. Again, for pedophiles an additional attraction is the sense of community. Exchange of files is normally achieved by “going DCC”, that is, leaving the IRC server system and setting up a Direct Computer to Computer link—IRC client software usually allows users to do this by means of a simple click of the mouse.
Aside from chat networks offences are facilitated through online social networking sites. MySpace and social networking sites like it offer thriving communities where young people engage in countless hours of photo sharing. In addition to MySpace, other social networking and blogging sites such as Friendster.com, Facebook.com and MyYearbook.com allow users to post pictures, videos, and blogs, as well as supporting email and instant messaging (Kierkegaard 2008, p. 43). However, the structure of such sites does vary. MySpace is open to anyone, and has loose age restrictions. Facebook