Linguistic Analysis of Chat Transcripts from Child Predator Undercover Sex Stings

Abstract: We analyzed chat transcripts from 590 undercover Internet sex stings across the US, using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software program to examine trends in sexual word usage, total word usage, and clout (a measure conveying social dominance) for convicted child sex offenders and undercover agents. Offenders and agents varied greatly in their scores in these word categories; however, generally, offenders used more words in each: 91% used more sexual words, 66% used more words overall, and 82% exhibited ...