There are forty-six Australian men who will not be enjoying their breakfast this morning. Their daily newspaper will be delivering bad news - and it will only be a matter of time before the police come knocking on their door.
On the other side of the world, a Dutch group has launched an innovative " Sting " operation to identify men who use the computer to lure young girls into providing pornography to satisfy their sexual cravings. It is a new form of " sex tourism " where child molesters visit third world countries and prey on a mix of poverty and lax law enforcement to procure young children to satisfy their sexual appetites.
This delivers results without the need to travel. The age of the computer and it's companion - the world wide web - offers the opportunity to solicit children to perform sexual acts online. These can then be viewed on the screen monitor in complete privacy - and many thought entirely free from the long arm of the law.
Just as the computer is a tool of sex voyeurs, the originator of this scheme has used the wonderful world of computer graphics to create ' Sweetie ", a supposed ten year old Filipino girl. Sweetie simply does not exist, but her image is real and her voice so convincing that men proposition her to comply to their sexual wishes on screen.
This is an offence under Australian law and this sting operation has provided the evidence - plus the computer identification of the culprits - to Interpol, and in due course that will find it's way into the hands of the various state police forces for action.
Grooming young children for sex is a crime and where it is committed is immaterial. Some people seem to think that the world of the internet is beyond police jurisdiction, but having sex with underage children in a far country by a travelling tourist can be a charge in a local court here - and that same situation applies to other illegal sexual activities on the internet.
Perhaps the most valuable outcome of the prosecutions that will follow these internet liaisons with "Sweetie " is the publicity they will create. The biggest deterrent to most forms of crime - is the fear of punishment. Many people exceed their better judgement simply because they think they can get away with it - and the certain knowledge that there is a very high risk factor will inevitably make many - think again !
The fear of public exposure shines the light into some very dark corners - and will help protect those very vulnerable to sexual exploitation.
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