Bay Area FBI Warns The Public About Online Predators Using ‘Group Grooming’

The FBI San Francisco Field Office is providing information to educators and parents to help protect children from online predators.

The FBI has identified several trends in which sexual predators are using “group grooming” tactics to target and groom children for sexual exploitation. Educating children about these tactics is a powerful tool in preventing victimization.

“Throughout our investigations, the FBI has uncovered evidence that online predators have banded together in groups in an attempt to victimize children,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. “The FBI is dedicated to identifying, arresting, and stopping these predators. We are providing this information to the public so that parents, guardians, and educators can warn their children about these reprehensible tactics.”

“Group Grooming” Tactics by Online Predators

FBI San Francisco has identified instances where online predators worked together in groups to target children as potential victims. They use “group grooming” tactics to expose children to explicit content and assess their openness to sexual exploitation.

In some instances, groups of online predators pose as children, meet in social media groups and gaming clans geared toward children, and use each other to condone and normalize the exchange of sexually explicit materials within the group.

Children who join the games, chats, or online groups are unaware that they are engaging with adult online predators, and instead believe they are meeting with a group of their peers.

Online predators try to use large social media followings or inclusion into online groups intended for children to give a perception of legitimacy and trustworthiness. Children may be more likely to trust individuals when they believe that other children in the group or following already know and trust the predator. FBI investigations have revealed that child victims in these groups are exposed to abnormal sexual practices that are normalized by their perceived “peers” in the group.

Online predators have disseminated sexually explicit materials to groups of children to identify those who are most vulnerable to engaging sexually with the predators in one-on-one communication. Predators may encourage child victims to engage in their first sexual experiences with them online, and frequently entice child victims to produce sexually explicit media such as child sexual abuse material. Online predators may also seek opportunities to meet child victims in-person for hands-on sexual abuse.

Reporting Child Sexual Exploitation

Reporting suspected sexual exploitation and abuse can help minimize or stop further victimization, as well as lead to the identification and rescue of other possible victims. If you suspect a child is the victim of child sexual exploitation or abuse:

• Contact your local law enforcement agency,
• Contact the FBI at tips.fbi.gov, and/or
• File a report with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-843-5678 or online at www.cybertipline.org.