“Hola, Baby”: An exploratory analysis of situational and technological characteristics in cases of online child sexual abuse victimization in Puerto Rico

Online child sexual abuse is a critical public health concern worldwide, including Puerto Rico. To better inform intervention efforts, it is vital to understand the digital capabilities and situational characteristics that perpetrators exploit in technologically facilitated sexual abuse. This exploratory study used a retrospective chart review of 22 patient records to describe victim and perpetrator attributes, alongside an inductive thematic approach to document participants’ experiences of technologically facilitated child sexual exploitation. Analysis of victim forensic interviews yielded five primary themes regarding misuse of technology and situational characteristics related to abuse incidents: (1) production of child sexual exploitation material and unwanted sexual solicitation; (2) grooming via online communication; (3) gaining access to the Dark Web; (4) proximity to abusers; and (5) strategies to disguise or normalize abuse. These findings demonstrate that effective detection and prevention strategies require policy initiatives to proactively address the evolving technological methods and deceptive tactics employed by perpetrators.