Internet‐initiated sexual abuse: adolescent victims' reports about On‐ and Off‐line sexual activities

The purpose of the present study was to investigate how adolescent girls, who had been sexually (on‐ and off‐line) deceived and abused by an Internet hebephile, reported about these acts. As we had access to documentation of 68 girls' conversations (i.e. chat logs) and involvement with the perpetrator, we were able to gauge what the victims reported during the police interview against this detailed documentation. In contrast with findings from previous research, the majority of victims reported about the off‐line activities (real‐life meetings) with the perpetrator. However, the victims omitted and/or denied more of the on‐line activities, specifically the more severe sexual on‐line acts (sending nude photos and participating in sexual web shows). There is probably a gap between what the victims reported and what they presumably remembered about the on‐line activities. Factors that might have affected the victims' pattern of reports are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.