Exposing patterns of adult solicitor behaviour: towards a theory of control within the cybersexual abuse of youth

The online solicitation of youth has been established as an unintended consequence of the connectedness afforded individuals through computer-mediated conversation. Information systems research focused on the behavioural patterns of online solicitors of youth is scant and lacks a strong theoretical foundation. We address this gap through an evolved grounded theory analysis of 90 Perverted Justice transcripts to extract the behavioural patterns that emerge when online solicitors use instant messaging to enact behaviours of grooming, predation, offending, and control. The aims of the research are: (1) delineate between grooming behaviour, predatory behaviour, and offending behaviour; (2) differentiate between passive and controlling solicitor language; (3) disentangle these behaviours from what the technology permits; (4) extend the current understanding of cybersexual abuse to show grooming as only one aspect of a phenomenon that also includes predation and offence; and (5) identify how these results are important for academics and software developers.