Tetsimony of W.
Hagmaier III, Unit Chief, Morgan P. Hardiman Child Abduction
and Serial Murder Investigative Resource Center
National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, Critical
Incident Response Group, FBI
Before the Senate
Subcommittee on Children and Families of the Health, Labor,
and Pensions
March 28, 2000
"Internet Predators"
Good morning Senator Gregg and
members of the Subcommittee. It is an honor to testify before
you today with respect to the problem of "Internet Predators"
and how some criminal predators are using the Internet to
stalk their victims. I would also like to recognize the courage
and commitment of the victims who have graciously come here
today to bring about a human side to this growing crisis.
Before I speak to the issue
of stalking and Internet Predators, it may be helpful if I
briefly explained the roles of the FBI's National Center for
the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) and that of my unit,
the Morgan P. Hardiman Child Abduction and Serial Murder Investigative
Resource Center. The NCAVC and its Morgan P. Hardiman Child
Abduction and Serial Murder Investigative Resource Center
are elements of the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group.
The NCAVC responds to over 1000 requests for assistance from
law enforcement around the globe, especially in complex or
bizarre cases, violent crime, threats including those involving
weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and organized crime
matters. The NCAVC provides behavioral profiles, research,
training, threat assessments, and other services to law enforcement
in matters pertaining to violent crime.
The unit that I am privileged
to head is a component of the NCAVC. The unit was established
by an Act of Congress on January, 27, 1998, upon the passage
of the "Protection of Children from Sexual Predators
Act of 1998." The unit's mission is to provide investigative
support through the coordination and provision of Federal
law enforcement resources, research, training, and other expertise
to assist law enforcement authorities in matters involving
child abductions, mysterious disappearances of children, child
homicide, and serial murder. The CASMIRC exists largely due
to the efforts and vision of Senator Gregg and others. We
are also cognizant and appreciative of the support and commitment
of Senator Dodd as well.
Many outstanding laws were enacted
through this legislation, including several that prohibit
the use of computers in committing crimes against children.
In brief, these laws make it illegal to use a computer to
commit such crimes as: enticing or engaging a minor in sexual
activity; to produce, transmit, or possess child pornography;
and to transfer obscene material to minors. Additionally,
the Act increases the penalties for the use of a computer
in the sexual abuse or exploitation of a child.
Significantly, the Act also
requires Electronic Communication Service Providers engaged
in providing interstate or foreign commerce computer services
to the public, to notify law enforcement should evidence of
child pornography be discovered in the transaction of computer
services. A key consideration for the purpose of this inquiry
is that it does have to be interstate or foreign commerce
related and it does not cover stalking activities.
The crime of stalking in general,
and in particular the use of computers as well as the Internet
to commit stalking, is a relatively new phenomena. Given the
recent awareness of stalking and domestic violence, we are
just beginning to understand its gravity and scope and obviously
we have a great deal more to learn.
A recent study noted that there
probably have been many cases of stalking and many stalkers
in the past, but the problem of stalking had never been studied
in depth, primarily because it was never classified as a distinct
crime until 1990. An earlier study of stalking estimated that
one in twenty women will be stalked in her lifetime. Further
it was estimated that as many as 200,000 stalkers were at
the time of the 1991 study stalking one or more victims in
the United States.
There is no commonly accepted
single definition of the term stalking. A working definition
for early research purposes was developed, as "a repeated
pattern of harassing behaviors intended to frighten, intimidate,
or terrorize a particular victim."
Research determined that to varying degrees, all stalkers
probably are mentally ill with the degree of mental illness
ranging from personality disorders to psychosis. All reports
strongly advocated the need for additional study and continued
empirical validation of its preliminary research.
Interest in the study of stalking
has grown. Further research must be encouraged in order to
help better understand not only the numbers of the actual
offenses but to determine the motivations and behaviors of
the offenders.
The unprecedented interest in
stalking over the past decade has resulted in the passage
of Federal and state anti-stalking laws. Today, all 50 States
and the District of Columbia have anti-stalking statues but
legal definitions and requirements vary widely from State
to State. Less than one-third of the states have anti-stalking
laws that cover stalking via electronic communications. Of
the U.S. states that have anti-stalking laws, only seven contain
language that deal with stalking by computer [Jenson, 1996;
Meloy 1998 - Alaska, Delaware, Connecticut, Michigan, Montana,
Oklahoma, Wyoming].
In 1994, Congress passed "The
Violence Against Women Act, Title IV of the Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act. The Act requires the U.S.
Attorney General to collect information about stalking and
domestic violence and provide an annual report to Congress.
In 1998, Congress also directed the Attorney General to report
information concerning existing or proposed State laws for
stalking crimes against children.
The Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice
is committing resources through the National Institute of
Justice (NIJ) to conduct research on stopping violence against
women, including domestic violence and stalking. The NIJ and
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, through a
grant to the Center for Policy Research, are cosponsors of
the National Violence Against Women Survey, a nationally representative
telephone survey of 8,000 U.S. women and 8,000 U.S. men. The
most recent NVAW Survey estimated that 8% (or 8.2 million)
of the women and 2% (or 2 million) of the men in the U.S.
have been stalked at some time in their life to the point
where these victims felt a high level of fear.
I have provided an abbreviated
general overview of the research and legislation applicable
to stalking. I would like to devote the remainder my time
discussing Internet Stalking also known as Cyberstalking,
or the use of the Internet, e-Mail, or other electronic communications
devices to stalk another person. As the use of computerized
communications continues to increase dramatically, it can
be reasonably expected that stalkers will increasingly exploit
computerized communications as a medium or tool to harass
and terrify their victims. Like other mediums or instruments
that stalkers have traditionally deployed to harass and threaten
victims: including written messages; mail; and the telephone;
computerized communications is the latest conduit for stalkers
to abuse.
A noted forensic psychiatrist,
Dr. J. Reid Meloy, author of The Psychology of Stalking, wrote
that every new technology can serve as a vehicle for criminal
behavior and the Internet is no exception. There is minimal
research on cyberstalking but legal cases exist in which the
Internet has been used as a means of unwanted communications
to stalk someone. Significantly, Dr. Meloy points out that
the Internet can be used for two criminal functions associated
to stalking. One, to gather private information on the target
to further a pursuit, and two, to communicate with the target
to implicitly or explicitly threaten or to induce fear. There
are technical means that make both tasks difficult to trace
to the perpetrator, such as sending e-mail through two or
three sequential servers (anonymous remailers that are often
located outside the U.S.).
In his book, Dr. Meloy refers
to an FBI case involving a University of Michigan student
(Jake Baker) who was arrested for publishing a fantasy of
rape, torture and murder that was posted in a Usenet newgroup
and read around the world. He used the name of a female classmate
in his electronic correspondence with another man. In e-mail
communications, the offender wrote that he planned where and
how to carry out his attack by kidnaping the victim at gunpoint,
raping, torturing, and then killing her. He was charged with
Interstate Transmission of a Threat to Injure, a felony under
Federal Law.
Federal law provides an important
tool to combat cyberstalking. Under Title 18 U.S.C. 875Ic),
it is a federal crime, punishable by up to five years in prison
and a fine of up to $250,000, to transmit any communication
in interstate or foreign commerce containing a threat to injure
the person of another. This law includes threats transmitted
over the telephone, e-mail, beepers, or the Internet. The
law does not actually cover non-interstate communications.
Although this is an excellent
law it does not apply in situations where a cyberstalker engages
in a pattern of conduct merely to harass or annoy without
making an actual threat. It also does not prohibit stalkers
from obtaining information about a victim from Internet Information
Providers that stalkers use to locate the victim or obtain
personal information, such as the victim's address, social
security number, or place of employment, as was the situation
in the Amy Boyer Case. Additionally, it does not cover a growing
phenomena whereby the stalker goes on-line and pretends to
be the victim and invites literally thousands of others to
approach or contact the victim due to a claimed interest or
desire in certain sexual activities, inappropriate conduct,
etc.
In another case, the FBI arrested Michael Ian Campbell of
Cape Coral, Florida. On December 15, 1999, Mr. Campbell contacted
a female student from Columbine High School over the Internet.
Campbell obtained the student's first name by viewing her
AOL "profile". Campbell also learned from her "profile"
that she attended Columbine High School. Using this information,
Campbell contacted the victim and implied he was a fellow
Columbine High School student who intended to finish the job
that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold tried to accomplish on
April 20, 1999, during their armed attack upon the students
of Columbine High School. Campbell warned the victim not to
go to school on the following day or face a similar fate as
the murdered Columbine students. The defendant is currently
is awaiting sentencing for this offense.
It is clear from such senseless
tragedies as Amy Boyer's murder, that stalkers present a clear
and present danger to their victims. Internet or Cyberstalkers
exploit the electronic communications network as a means to
carry out their criminal objectives of harassment, threats,
and violence. Research studies are needed to determine the
prevalence of stalking offenses so that corrective measures
may be fairly and intelligently determined. We need to continue
to study those individuals who commit stalking offenses as
well as educate ourselves regarding the diverse methods and
techniques used to convey the stalkers' messages of hatred,
terror, and violence.
In conclusion, whether the criminal
makes use of the unlimited resources of the Internet for the
purposes of locating the victim, learning to build a bomb
to kill them, or simply to brag to others of his ability or
intent, or does it without the aid of electronic communications,
the victims and their family become virtual prisoners. Their
world becomes a prison without bars and their first thought
every morning and last thought each evening is of the predator.
Plain and simple they become the victim of a terrorist who
threatens and perhaps ends the victim's pursuit of life, liberty,
and happiness.
The victims exist in a state
of constant fear and, because of a sadistic predator, can
never be confident of safety - for themselves, their families,
or others who may be nearby. Each unexpected sound or shadow
may be construed as a potential attack.
Law enforcement is painfully
aware of this cat and mouse scenario and experience great
frustration waiting for the first overt action taken by the
stalker. In some situations this first act is homicide. Stalkers
can many times materialize into serial predators. Many serial
child exploiters, serial rapists, as well as serial killers
began their evil trades by gaining confidence through participation
in less serious but successful crimes. Once stalkers begin
to progress, and then accelerate, their criminal careers,
law enforcement is usually at a severe disadvantage. The freedom
and anonymity offered by the Internet as well as the seemingly
endless opportunity to exploit the information highway may
increasingly serve as a staple for today's criminal predators.
Again, I am grateful for the
opportunity to contribute to this hearing and like you, I
am most hopeful that the legacy of Amy Boyer and other innocent
victims will serve to prevent other such tragedies.
Thank you.
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