Anyone
can make a mistake. It might even be a very bad mistake, causing a great
deal of harm to others. I would like to think that most human beings,
once they realize the consequences of their error, would at least stop
doing it, perhaps even trying to make up for the harm they caused;
perhaps even apologizing.
There are some, however, who simply don't care. They are totally without scruples or moral values. Moreover, they actually seem to delight in the immorality and the harmfulness of their actions. If they cheat you out of money, their primary motive is not the profit, but having done it to you. And if it's sex, then they seduce and abandon, or perhaps the game is to steal a partner away from another, or to see just how far into perversion and slave-like obedience they can lead their prey.
It is not a matter of
kinkiness being right or wrong. That is not the issue. They seek to gain
and prove their power over another, in whatever way they can.
Victims of such predators include not just the innocent, the immature, or those lacking in intelligence. Clinical depression, for example, may render a person particularly vulnerable to emotional ploys. Depression can be effectively treated, but the damage done to relationships by those who take advantage of the condition, may not be so easily undone.
On the internet, it is easy for anyone to seem to be normal, friendly, and well-intentioned. They may have any number of identities: They work hard at appearing wholesome, perhaps chivalrous, with just enough naughtyness to lure their unsuspecting prey.
What can be done? Just beware. And if you or a friend or a loved one has been a victim of one of these scum, don't be embarrassed or afraid to tell everyone who they are and what they did. Identities can be changed, of course, but the more that is known about them, the better chance others have of avoiding them.
While the following probably doesn't apply to the
virtual form of the crime, it accurately describes the offense, and is a law
from the country of the offender:
218 of the Danish Penal Code
(1) Any person who, by exploitation of another person's
mental illness or mental deficiency, procures for himself
extra-marital sexual intercourse with that person
shall be liable to imprisonment for any
term not exceeding four years.
(2) Any person who procures for himself extra-marital intercourse
with a person who is in such a position that he is unable to resist the act
shall be liable to imprisonment for any term not exceeding four years,
unless the act is covered by the provisions of section 216 of this act.
Should laws regarding physical acts be updated to apply to harmful
internet behavior? If that is the only way to prevent it, perhaps so.
---captainrat