Cybergrooming: Important information for parents and children!

"Just keep it between us, okay?" or "Cute profile picture, great figure - do you want to be a model? Got contacts..." - Messages of this kind in chat histories are often the beginning of sexual assaults on children and young people online. Minors are specifically approached by unfamiliar adults via the Internet in order to initiate sexual contact. These cases are referred to as cybergrooming. Even if this contact only takes place online, the contact can cross the threshold of sexual abuse and is then punishable by law!

Children are increasingly using PCs, tablets and cell phones to surf the internet. Contact is made quickly and easily online: the perpetrators approach adolescents via social networks (e.g. Knuddels, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), online games/gaming platforms (e.g. Fortnite, Steam) or messenger services (e.g. WhatsApp). They pretend to be children, teenagers or young adults via a fake profile, give false names or appear anonymously.

The perpetrators often request additional photos and the phone number for private messages and video calls right at the beginning. They build up trust with their victims and then ensnare them in dependencies. They show great interest in the child's life and feign understanding for their everyday problems. Finally, the perpetrators demand to switch from public chat histories to purely private communication via messenger services such as "WhatsApp" - where they are ultimately in areas that cannot be viewed by others.

The perpetrators then ask about the young person's exact appearance and first sexual experiences. They send pornographic material and combine this with a request for their victims to send their own pictures or videos of this kind. In many cases, the child is asked to present themselves naked in a live video call. In order not to reveal their own identity, the perpetrators usually leave the camera off. The perpetrators use the images and videos sent by the children to blackmail them: if they tell others about it or do not want to send any more material, they threaten to publish it. In the final step, the victims are offered a meeting in real life.

In many cases of cybergrooming, the children and young people affected do not dare to talk to friends, parents or other trusted persons about what they have experienced. Their sense of shame prevails, they feel responsible for it themselves and are afraid of sanctions. However, it is important to remember that if a child is harassed online, it is never their own fault! The person responsible for online sexual abuse is the person seeking contact.

If your child is or has been in contact with such perpetrators, please file a criminal complaint in any case. Cybergrooming (and also attempted cybergrooming) is punishable under Section 176a of the German Criminal Code (StGB) and can be punished with a prison sentence of 6 months to 10 years.

The Lippe police appeal to parents: Protect your children from online sexual abuse!
Talk to your children about cybergrooming and make them aware of suspicious online solicitations. Explain to your children that they should not give out any personal data in chats and social networks and should not publish any pictures or videos from their intimate lives.