Parents have been warned to keep a closer eye on their children’s internet use after a study revealed just how fast a predator can groom a child online.
When researchers at Swansea University examined the language used by 192 sexual predators in conversation with adults posing as children, they discovered the majority of them were highly skilled communicators with a variety of techniques and strategies.
The four-year study showed that paedophiles can coerce children into doing what they want them to do at truly frightening speed, using small talk to build up a rapport in as little as 20 minutes.
Contrary to popular belief, predators did not tend to pose as children in order to get closer to their victims. The majority of the children targeted were aware they were speaking to an adult.
The conversations were analysed by Professor Nuria Lorenzo-Dus and Dr Cristina Izura as part of the Online Grooming Communication Project.
“They are skilled communicators who use a range of strategies,” said Professor Lorenzo-Dus told the Telegraph.
“These include seemingly innocuous ‘small talk’ to develop a sense of trust in them, requests and commands to gauge the children’s disposition to meet online groomers’ desires for verbal or visual sexual engagement and compliments on various topics to increase feelings of trust and emotional bonding.”
“Online groomers are communicatively, highly skilled and can interact with their victims as if they care about them, and pretend to be romantically – rather than only sexually – interested in them,” added Dr Izura.
“They complement children regularly on a range of topics, rather than only on sexually-oriented ones.
“We have found that depending on online grooming speed, sexually-oriented compliments, whether on appearance or on personality, comprise between over half and a quarter of all the compliments online groomers pay.”
The study authors urged parents to listen carefully when their children are discussing their online activity and to ensure that they are fully aware of the tactics used by groomers online.
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