-Inappropriate or sexual talk about the genitals or private parts.
-Self-cutting or other forms of self-mutilation.
-Suicide or attempted suicide.
-Overly fearful of a particular person.
-Keeping secrets with a particular adult.
-Signs of injury in or surrounding the genital area or thighs.
-Pregnancy. Parents or caregivers, law-enforcement personnel, social services and the family's healthcare provider must find out who the father is.
-Low self-esteem, intense anxiety, unusual generalized fear.
-Drastic changes in eating habits, especially if it develops suddenly.
-Withdrawal, profoundly reduced social skills especially if they occur suddenly and without warning.
-Sudden marked increase in sexual knowledge.
-Excessive masturbation or a similar behaviour.
-Cringing and/or fearful of adults usually males.
-Preoccupation with one's own genitals.
-Sudden regressing
-Sudden bedwetting
-Waking up during the night sweating and screaming.
-Sudden change in behaviour, cowering too much or overly aggressive.
-An abrupt drop in school performance.
-Abrupt chronic absenteeism from school.
-Health problems
In March of 2011 a massive internet pedophile/child molester ring with up to 70 thousand members was discovered and exposed by Europol (European Police Agency). Dubbed "Operation Rescue', at the time 670 suspects had been identified, along with 230 child victims. Law enforcement agencies from 13 countries were involved in this case.
184 suspects including teachers, police officers, scout leaders, and at least one youth camp worker have been arrested. Most of the arrestees are suspected of child molestation. The youth camp worker, a Spanish citizen, is suspected of molesting nearly 100 children over a 5 year period. According to Corrie Bassett, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 5 Americans have been arrested along with 4 convictions in the U.S.
"Arrests so far have been made in Georgia and Connecticut. ICE continues to pursue the leads provided by Europol," Corrie Bassett. (Crime & Courts on NBC.com: Massive Online Pedophile Ring Busted by Cops; the Associated Press Contributed to this Report)
"The website operated from a server based in the Netherlands and, at its height, boasted up to 70,000 members worldwide ... It attempted to operate as a 'discussion-only' forum where people could share their sexual interest in young boys without committing any specific offences, thus operating 'below the radar' of police attention ... Having made contact on the site, some members would move to more private channels, such as email, to exchange and share illegal images and films of children being abused. Computers seized from those arrested have harvested huge quantities of child abuse images and videos," said Europol. (ibid)
"Those who have been members of the site can expect a knock on the door in the very near future," said Peter Davies, Lead Investigator for the case, Britain's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center. (ibid)
On November 14, 2013 Toronto Police disclosed the details of an international child sex abuse and pornography investigation, known internally as Project Spade that extended to 6 continents and has resulted in hundreds of arrests, including 108 in Canada.
According to the Toronto police thus far 348 persons have been arrested, and 386 children have been rescued from around the world, including 24 in Canada.
Azofilms.com based in Toronto and operated by 41 year-old Brian Way, was suspected of being the primary solicitor and seller of child pornography around the world, for this particular case.
iAltogether, about 45 terabytes of child pornography on computers were seized, portraying hundreds of thousands of sexual acts involving children ... School teachers, doctors and actors were among those arrested," said Inspector Joanna Beaver- Desjardins, commander of the Toronto police sex crimes unit. (November 14, 2013, CBC News Toronto; Hundreds Arrested in International Child Porn Case; With Files from the Canadian Press)
In May of 2011, 71 year-old former Bishop Raymond Lahey pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography for the purpose of importing it into Canada.
Nearly 600 pornographic photos of young teen boys were discovered in Lahey's Toshiba laptop. Some of the photos involved torture, others gruesome torture.
Lahey was apprehended in Ottawa International Airport. Airport personnel noticed that Lahey was behaving suspiciously. He was later sentenced in an Ottawa courtroom. Naturally Lahey's conviction shocked members of his former Nova Scotia diocese of Antigonish. If Lahey has a conscience he'll likely spend the rest of his life in utter humiliation and sorrow.
How long Lahey has been interested in and has been viewing child and teen porn is unknown. Has Lahey ever acted out on his fantasies? If so, how many times, and how many children has he victimized? Only one thing is for certain, his status as Bishop has been destroyed.
Private, undisclosed files which include 5 religious orders containing nearly 2000 pages from the Catholic Church in Los Angeles, California were released as part of a 2007 massive settlement deal ($US 660 million) with victims exposes 10 priests or brothers and 2 nuns accused of sexually abusing 21 boys during their tenure in the largest Catholic Archdiocese in the U.S.
"Much of this went unreported. You're talking about kids that were terrorised and frightened in so many different ways, with no place and no one to turn to," said Ray Boucher, the lead plaintiff attorney coordinating the release of the files. (August 1, 2013; By Associated Press and Daily Mail Reporter; Daily Mail: Priest Confessed in Therapy Sessions to Molesting More than 100 Boys, Including His Own Brother, 5, Having Sex With Male Prostitutes and Frequenting Gay Strip Clubs )
In 2011, 50 year-old Grant Smith, a former professor of engineering at the University of Utah was given a suspended sentence and 5 years of probation by a Boston judge following Grant's guilty plea of possessing child porn. Grant must abide by the rules of his probation. In addition, he must continue sex offender treatment, abide by the Utah sex registry requirements, and follow limitations regarding contact with children and internet use.
Kurt Wade, a fellow passenger on Delta Airlines first class section allegedly photographed Smith viewing child porn on his computer. He then expressed what ensued to a flight attendant, wherein Wade