We are only into mid-August and BC has set a record for online child sexual abuse, exploitation cases in a single year.
According to the RCMP’s ICE Unit, 10,850 reports have been received province-wide – just under 12% of those files are related to the North District area.
Constable Solana Pare told Vista Radio online predators will often portray themselves as children in order to gain their trust.
“Oftentimes, predators who are targeting youth will misrepresent themselves as youth in order to develop a sense of trust with the person they are targeting.”
“BC ICE has noticed predators will begin contact with a child on popular platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and other gaming consoles and then they will teach the child to move a conversation over to a more secure form of communication.”
In short, this has created a portal for anyone to connect at any time where kids are often vulnerable and can be taken advantage of.
“There are predators who are attempting to have relationships with children in order to meet with them for an in-person encounter and there are predators who communicate with children to obtain intimate images of them for their own personal use or to be sold or redistributed online,” added Pare.
“Occasionally, these predators will extort these children for money after they have sent the intimate images. This also happens to adults on occasion as well where they threaten to send these images to their friends and family.”
The shame and guilt kids and teenagers often feel because of these incidents can be quite steep, often leading to victims suffering in silence.
“Children fear disclosing what has happened because they think people may blame them for their involvement on what happened and they think they will not be believed.”
Pare noted it’s important for parents to stay up to date on any new social media platforms or apps that show up on your computer or mobile device and to use them as a conversation piece.
“Parents and guardians are encouraged to monitor any new apps that are installed on any electronic devices that are accessed by children. If you notice something new, use it as an introduction into a conversation on why they may have it.”
Incidents have of online child sexual abuse and exploitation has skyrocketed in the last couple of years going from just over 4,600 incidents in 2021 to the previous record high of 9,600 last year.
So, what makes BC such a hot spot? Pare admits there is no simple answer to that question.
“It’s a challenge given the size of our province and the volume of police serving their communities as well as the variety of sizes of communities and police agencies amongst our province.”
“British Columbia could be overrepresented partly due to how police units report and record crimes of this nature and due to the increased education and nature of child exploitation.”
Pare adds BC’s ICE Unit has 23 members working on these cases from across the province, however more resources are likely needed in order to keep up with the growing case load.