Sexual Predators

Hello All,

Just had a question for you. If people are engaging in cybersex and all that, how do you know the other person isn't minor? Some states are making it illegal to even solicit sex from a minor, whether you know its a minor or not.

So, it seems to me pretty unsafe to be engaging in Cybersex in game because the person on the other end could be a minor. Or worse, the monor's father who is an FBI agent.

Just wanted to hear what you all thought.

Tuber

* Gently caresses Tuber *

Starax! Shouldn't you be at school!

Oh wait, its half term... Carry on!

You don't Tuber.. that's the problem. So you're faced with the choice of not partaking of t3h cyb0rs3ks *OR* try keeping the conversation to topics that would only be relevant to 20-somethings, 30-somethings or older. Better yet, just start talking about how it's such a bitch paying for your teenage kids' college education when all they want to do is party and never crack their books open and study. There's plenty of ploys to weed out the underage.

I'll be the first to say: Read the TOS.

It explicitly says Dont give your password out to others. Dont let others use your account.

So if an FBI agent were to allow his son/daughter use his avatar on the ADULT grid, he or she would be in the wrong.

If this FBI agent were to "pretend" to be a minor, then any sane person would walk, no- Teleport!, away & let LL know a minor is on the Adult Grid, whether they really are or arent a minor.

While I'm sure their are minors on the grid, they try to keep a low profile- or should.

Engage in Pixel Slapping with caution either way.

The main SL grid is 'supposed' to be an adult-only world. Teens should be going to TeenSL. LL CYOAs by stating this in the sign up process and in the TOS, etc.

If a resident knows of or suspects a minor on the main grid, IMO they aught to be reporting that person to LL to protect themselves and other residents from the sort of problems you mention.

-Ghoti

Ploys work on the nieve, but most would be able to fool people. Easy to do over the internet.

The biggest thing is to ask if you're unsure. SL "requires" a credicard (or simular) payment to begin which is used as "proof" of age. Yes, underage still get in (smart little buggers), but for the majority, I believe the average person you meet will be an adult.

As Alazarin said, you can try to figure it out (hands a wig to go with the hair pulling on that), not engage in SLex, or simply take others as they portray themselves.

The one thing I advise is that if anyone you are ever with states, hints, or in any way gives you the suspicion that they are underage, that you cease any activity that is not within PG boundries. An FBI agent portraying an underage person portraying an adult would not have a case, for example. An FBI agent portraying an underage person and telling someone they are underage, DOES have a case. They are doing that now in chatrooms (was on the news 2 days ago even.)

Really, it's like RL. Get to know the person first then go from there.

~Jessy

Sounds like some sort of an entrapment to me! Prentend you are over 18 in an over 18 world, do the silly pixel thing while saying a few smutty lines then announce that you are 12, your father is an FBI agent and is coming to get you!?!

Then again isn't entrapment legal in the US? I've seen 'Cops' with the undercover hookers

From the news I've seen on FBI and police stings on that sorta thing, the cops are looking for people who, AFTER the person says they're 12/13/etc., says "Yeah baby! lets cyber!"

I really don't think it would be arrestable if they pretended to be 13 pretending to be 18 in order to tag someone who thinks there's an adult on the other end of the computer.... At least, I know it wouldn't fly in Canada.

I'm a sexual predator. Just ask Kiari

You dont know and you probably wont know unless you meet them in RL
They could also lie and be male in RL too LOL =x (female avatars sometimes are males in RL)

You are, you provide hundreds with sheer Eggstasy!

Arf Arf

<3

/me reads TOS

Yes, I realize that the Credit Card requirement probably does weed out most yunguns. Thanks for pointing out the TOS. It is good to know that technically minors are not allowed to play.

/me feels a little tiny bit safer

It just seemed to me that even if you don't parttake in direct SLex, just happening to look around at Xcite's store and then later chatting with some about or not about SLex, could get you in trouble.

However, I agree with the above statement that if you are having dirty chat , IMs, or SLex with someone and then realize they are a minor walking away and /ignore should be a good defense. If you realize they are a minor and keep going, you probably should get arrested... lol

Thanks guys,
Toob

Er... what does SLExchange have to do with it? xD

Not a problem, fire off an AR on the spot and "mute". If the "underaged" is on your property, frieze, then "drop kick" (eject off property). Make sure your security script has their name on the "targets" list. For added comfort contact Torley Linden and explain the whole business.
If this is an entrapment, they will have nothing on you and the above shows how you want nothing to do with minors and "sex".

This brings to my mind something that has been troubling me for months.

Is it pronounced "ESS-ELL-Exchange" or

"slexchange" (rhyming with "sexchange"?

I've lost sleep over this.

I would think it would be less likely to find a preditor in the aldut grid then it would be to find one in the teen grid. I really doubt teens are like, OMG.. i gotta get me some of that flaby chick/guy who is like 2x my age so i can cyber with them and call them daddy.

Aldut grid says everyone gotta be like 90 yrs old and to find the real exictement, ya need to goto the teen grid were everyone is like 10 and just wait'n to play wif u.

I totally dont see a preditor issue, unless you wanna come over so i can tie and bound you...

As I understand it, the agents can pretend they're underage until the cows come home, but it's not entrapment as long as they're not the ones initiating the sexual exchange. Usually all they have to do is adopt a cutesie name, drop a few hints about their age and how Mom & Dad aren't home, and the predators take it from there. No entrapment.

It's not much different from cops posing as prostitutes, getting the johns to tell them what they want.

The presumption on the Adult Grid is that everyone we encounter is of legal US age. As long as no statements are made which indicate the individual is young, I don't see how anyone could be legally at risk. In fact, it's a far, far more likely scenario that the hot blonde avie with the hoochie hair and big boobs is a guy than that he/she's underage. Caveat Emptor.

It don't matter what your avatar looks like most the time. Your attractive to someone... When i made my THERE account i was in a newbie female av and people were hitting on me like crazy...

My Sl avatar can easily have attached fangs or walruss tusks with blood on them and look like they havent bathed in months or are a zombie but that arouses some people. O.o

If you're going to engage in SL cybersex, it's probably more likely that the "hot chick" is a dude rather than underage.

With that said, if you knowingly cybered with a minor (or someone you thought was a minor) and kept it all online, I'm not sure how much the FBI would pursue an arrest. I assume that would be illegal and you certainly should be arrested, but it may be too difficult/expensive only to have you claim role play/didn't know for sure in court.

Recent Dateline NBC episodes (I believe there's one tonight) seem to indicate they set up sting operations and go after people who make arrangements for (and show up for) real sex with a minor in the real world. They show up, get caught on camera, and then get arrested. I bet the conviction rate is 100%.

HP

I was playing around with scripts that animated flexible prims, and in honor of the show Drawn Together, I created slimy green tentacles that attached to my crotch. They look very creepy moving around, but I still get hit on

all you need is a cell phone to make accounts. tons of kiddies have cell phone this day, would be easy for them to make an account and enter.

stick with Credit card is the best way.

they dont hook up in SL though. they hook up on yahoo or sleazy meat market type enviroments.

SL just doesnt have the sleaze appeal. unless you look at the real peeps behind the avatars. now theres a scary thought.

Ever been to a internet convention of sorts? I have been to 3 of them and the attractive rating scale from 1 to 10, would put most internet folks at about a 2. except for me.. I of course am a 10.

I'd like to take this one step further than this post has talked about thus far.

Not long ago a friend of mine and I had a lengthy discussion about Roleplay in Second Life. In this discussion this exact same topic was touched on. We both agreed all residents are protected by the Terms of Service (ToS) that you agree to legally when you sign up to use Second Life. To me, that is the end of the story as it pertains to unknowingly having cybor sex with minors.

This leads to another thing I’ve seen in second life. Some residents who are adults roleplay children (under 18 years old) inside Second Life. They also engage in cybor sex as these roleplay characters. What would be the repercussion of such activity should an FBI agent play such a role? Is engaging in cybor sex with an adult roleplaying a minor illegal? Is such activity considered a form of child pornography?

I don’t have an answer to the questions on legality. I have my opinion on such activity but don’t feel it’s relevant since I do not engage in such activities. I just thought since there is a discussion on minors and sex on the mature grid that this scenario would also be something worth discussing.

*huggles*
Savonah

Hi Savonah!

This comes up every few months in the forums and usually doesn't end too well Type 'age play' into the search for the past threads on it.