A predator targets a child in a public chat, on a social media platform or in an online game. The predator may comment on a social media post or send a direct message. To gain trust, predators will typically lie about their age – they may adopt a persona that's just a bit older than the potential victim.
Predators call the child by name, creating a false sense of familiarity and trust. Pedophiles may lure youngsters to their home with a party atmosphere, providing toys, sports equipment, use of a swimming pool, etc.
The predator identifies a victim who seems vulnerable, often looking for a child with low self-esteem, an obedient/compliant personality, or mental disability. If possible, he or she also assesses the child's home life for signs that the parents are uninvolved or pre-occupied.
Predators seek out potential victims by looking for children they think are vulnerable, easy targets, or less likely to report abuse (Arévalo, et al., 2014; van Dam, 2001). More specifically, predators look for children who: • Are looking for attention. Need someone to listen to them.
Predators use fake profile pictures, fake ages, fake shared hobbies, etc. They establish an online relationship with the victim, complimenting them and gaining their trust, until the groomer moves toward sexual conversations, and eventually, even using those inappropriate photos as blackmail.
How it starts: A predator targets a child in a public chat, on a social media platform or in an online game. The predator may comment on a social media post or send a direct message. To gain trust, predators will typically lie about their age – they may adopt a persona that's just a bit older than the potential victim.
How does a kidnapper choose his victim? Kidnappers tend to develop a profile of their likely target before making an abduction based upon their overall goals, which usually falls into one of three categories: financial gain, extremism or emotional disturbance.
The thing that probably stops most predators from killing us, over the course of our evolutionary history, is that we see them before they see us and move or make lots of noise. Predators then have to exert more energy hunting us down and probably fight a whole group of humans.
More than 40% of known child abusers who came to the attention of authorities were under the age of 20. In a Utah survey of all sexual abuse perpetrators, 43% were youth under the age of 18, with 18% being under the age of 13. 40% of all sexual abuse of children is committed by youth under the age of 18.
The traits and behaviors that stood out for females included impulsivity, lack of behavioral controls, sexual promiscuity, criminal diversity, deceitfulness, and a lack of realistic goals.
Children between the ages of 12 and 15 are especially susceptible to be groomed or manipulated by adults they meet online. According to the F.B.I., over 50 percent of the victims of online sexual exploitation are between the ages of 12 and 15.
Some examples of predator and prey are lion and zebra, bear and fish, and fox and rabbit. The words "predator" and "prey" are almost always used to mean only animals that eat animals, but the same concept also applies to plants: Bear and berry, rabbit and lettuce, grasshopper and leaf.
Dating Apps
Similar apps to be aware of are Badoo, Monkey, HILY, Plenty of Fish, and Hot or Not. These apps can be especially dangerous because they register the phone's location to find local users, which could allow predators to find your child's school or address.
Rohypnol. Rohypnol is a brand name for a powerful sedative that is often referred to as "roofies." Rohypnol is not legally available for prescription in the US and so just having it in your possession signals intent to commit a crime.
Keep a low profile.
Avoid blatant displays of wealth, like flashy jewelry or expensive clothes and accessories. Walk and talk with purpose and confidence, like you know where you are going. Speaking on a mobile phone loudly in public may reveal information to pique the interest of a kidnapper.
Out of all people getting kidnapped, 25% of them are children. Children are easier to traffic than adults because they are more susceptible to manipulation and brainwashing. Children from foster families are at greater risk of being stolen and trafficked.
Desensitization to touch and discussion of sexual topics: Abusers will often start to touch a victim in ways that appear harmless, such as hugging, wrestling and tickling, and later escalate to increasingly more sexual contact, such as massages or showering together.
It may come as a surprise that many animals, including some apex predators, are terrified of humans. According to scientists, it's because we're big and loud and 'novel' to them. And so to protect themselves, they try to avoid us as much as possible.
Sexual predators may push past healthy boundaries. This behavior may begin with seemingly innocent touches on the back, hand, or leg. But it may escalate to inappropriate touching on the thigh, near the genitals, on breasts, or even fondling without the person's consent.
Online grooming occurs when an adult uses electronic communication (including social media) in a predatory fashion to try to lower a child's inhibitions, or heighten their curiosity about sex, with the aim of eventually meeting them in person for the purposes of sexual activity.