Computers and the Sexual Exploitation of Children.

In its ongoing effort to safeguard children, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has published Portable Guides to Investigating Child Abuse, a series of brochures that address the issues challenging investigators of child sexual exploitation involving computers. The first section of this guide reviews the highly predictable behavior patterns of preferential sex offenders and how these offenders use computers. The second section provides investigative guidelines on establishing the context, obtaining a search warrant, handling and securing computer equipment, and analyzing the suspect's computer. The guide concludes with an examination of the legal principles governing the search and seizure of computers. Special tools contained in the guide include a glossary of computer terms, a supplemental reading list, and contact information for organizations and federal agencies that provide assistance with investigations.

Currently, 12 other titles exist in the Portable Guides to Investigating Child Abuse series: Recognizing When a Child's injury or Illness Is Caused by Abuse, NCJ 160938; Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Child Sexual Abuse, NCJ 160949; Photodocumentation in the Investigation of Child Abuse, NCJ 160939; Diagnostic Imaging of Child Abuse, NCJ 161235; Battered Child Syndrome: Investigating Physical Abuse and Homicide, NCJ 161406; Interviewing Child Witnesses and Victims of Sexual Abuse, NCJ 161623; Child Neglect and Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, NCJ 161841; Criminal Investigation of Child Sexual Abuse, NCJ 162426; Burn Injuries in Child Abuse, NCJ 162424; Law Enforcement Response to Child Abuse, NCJ 162425; Understanding and Investigating Child Sexual Exploitation, NCJ 162427; and Forming a Multidisciplinary Team to Investigate Child Abuse, NCJ 170020.