Officers of the Cybercrimes Division of the National Investigation Inspectorate since the beginning of this year started 31 criminal cases over online child sexual exploitation and abuse. The police warn about the danger posed by these immoral acts that involve children and warn the parents to be prudent, IPN reports.

The criminal cases were started over child pornography, sexual harassment and luring of minors for sexual purposes. Also, 36 cases of online child sexual abuse were reported through the platform siguronline.md. The average age of children who experienced online child sexual abuse is 13 years, but there are also signals and cases when younger children, aged between 7 and 9, are exposed to messages unsuitable for their age.

Specialists warn that in the current epidemiological situation, most of the child activities moved to the online environment. As they cannot interact live with the friends and mates, the children initiated friendship and affection relationships online and socialize online more than earlier.

“The children experience situations of online sexual abuse for different reasons. Out of curiosity, they establish friendship relations with persons whom they don’t know in reality, but with whom they discuss more intimate subjects, exposing themselves to dangers this way and becoming vulnerable, being later blackmailed and made to send pictures. Or they are forced to do this and are threatened at the first stage by unknown persons,” said Elena Botezatu, director of the Children Program of the International Organization “La Strada” in the Republic of Moldova.

Specialists recommend the parents to monitor the activities performed by children on the computer, to familiarize the children with the used technology and to explain to them that the Internet users can present false data in the profile and that they should not tell their personal data to unknown persons.