Online pimps target schoolgirls and force them to perform sexual acts on...

Online pimps target schoolgirls and force them to perform sexual acts on live streams as 'new menace' of cyber sex websites sweep India



India's sex industry is using the web to expand its network and experts fear the women taking up the bait for easy money face a high risk of cyber exploitation.

The warning came from ECPAT International, a global network of civil workers to stop sexual exploitation of children.

Rajib K Haldar, regional coordinator for the organisation in south Asia has been studying cyber-related exploitation of children in India and believes teenagers are at risk of being exploited by agencies which cater to a wide market of fantasies.

Various escort agencies now prefer to operate from the safety of a small make-shift studio using digital payments than risking a physical contact or cash transaction with their potential customers,' he said.

'The demands on these websites often boast of showing school or college girls in the act. It is believed that not only sex workers but also girls from moderate backgrounds are being exploited by these agents on the pretext of fast buck.'

There has been a rise in number of adult websites and mobile apps that offer a choice of sexual acts to be streamed live on mobile phones or computers, a trend borrowed from the Philippines which is growing at a fast pace in India.

Experts point out that it could be difficult for law enforcement agencies to bring the perpetrators to book in the absence of relevant laws.

'Cyber sex is new a menace where minors are exploited on the internet by online pimps in the disguise of escort agents or model coordinators,' Prashant Mali, Mumbai High Court lawyer and a cyber security expert said.

'This is illegal and amounts to abetment of prostitution. Transmission of sex videos, chat or nude pictures amounts to crime under Section 67B of The IT Act, 2000 and the punishment is up to seven years of jail and Rs 10 lakh of fine.'

Another worker of an NGO, which rescues young girls from sexual exploitation, quoted several cases where women were first given training to perform before a web camera, read out scripted text for their potential clients and fix appointments.

'In some of these cases, many women did not know that the live-streaming was also being recorded and would later be uploaded at various porn sites or used for continued exploitation,' said the NGO worker who requested anonymity.

The rates for a live-streaming are decided on hourly basis depending upon the type of act and age or ethnicity of the 'performer'.

The cost may range from Rs 500 to 2,000.

These service providers have categorised the performances under various categories like 'Online HD', 'Party Chat', 'Cam LIVE' etc.

A client can select the person of his choice from the site's album or promotional clips. The mode of payment is either by choosing membership or one-time online payment option.

A member gets regular notifications about the show times with multiple options to select from joining a group chatroom or a private act.

'There have been instances where several such acts were recorded with the consent of the performer, using special software, and later uploaded on adult sites or YouTube,' said Haldar, who said while courts are seized of the matter, stringent laws are needed to curb exploitation.

This reporter, with the help of a male colleague, when contacted several escort services providers, the agencies offered to arrange 45-minute 'performance' by a Delhi University girl on Skype for Rs 1,750.

Police officials said in such cases the site owners operate from areas outside their jurisdiction.

'Besides, the force can only act on a complaint or a tip-off, which are rare to come by in such cases,' an official with the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police said.

The official agreed that cyber sex trade was growing fast. 'This is easy money for the agent or performer and offers privacy to a customer. You have presumably no identity on the net, so it makes you lose inhibitions,' said the police official.

Cyber experts also warn that many criminals may use sex as bait for stealing vital personal data from one's computer or phone.

'They can infect your machine on the pretext of allowing access to their cam-software for streaming. One never knows when one may be playing into the hands of cyber blackmailers,' said an expert working with Delhi Police Cyber Cell.