As Ashleigh Hall's murderer is sentenced to life imprisonment, new research is underway to help protect more young people from becoming victims of online grooming by known sex offenders.

Serial sex offender Peter Chapman, 33, admitted in court to kidnapping, raping and murdering 17-year-old student Ashleigh after befriending her online. He had used a fake Facebook profile to pose as a teenage boy and lure Ashleigh into meeting him in October last year.

Now a Europe-wide study by a team of experts plans, including KU's own criminologist Professor Julia Davidson, hopes to shed light on how sex offenders select and groom their victims online.

The findings will be used to improve safety checks on sex offenders in the community and strengthen internet safety programmes aimed at young people and their parents.

As one of the lead researchers of the European Online Grooming Project, Professor Davidson said: “Chapman fits the classic stereotype of an internet groomer.

“He pretended to be a child and communicated with his victim over a period of time, gaining her trust, until she was prepared to meet him in person.”

To establish a better understanding of how sex offenders approach victims online and the context in which abuse takes place, researchers will interview 50 known sex offenders who have been convicted of online related sex offences.

Professor Davidson said: “It is a very small sample but that’s because online grooming legislation only exists in two countries – the UK and in Norway.

“We suspect that many more offenders are using the internet as part of their modus operandi but they are not necessarily convicted of internet related offences.”

Alongside this research, a parallel project is also taking place to look into the experience of victims to understand what makes some individuals susceptible to being groomed.

Professor Davidson said: “You could say that all young people are at risk. Until we see the data it is difficult to define what makes a young person vulnerable.

"I think it is the case with Ashleigh. She clearly thought she was talking to somebody else. She had no concept of being abused, of being groomed.”

Despite efforts by law enforcement agency CEOP (the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) to raise awareness of internet safety, research shows that young people continue to share personal information and even post provocative photographs on social networking sites.

Third year politics and media student Krasimira Karamfilova, 22, said: “When I was 15 it felt safe to chat online with strangers. But that was luck really – you never know who can be behind the computer.

“Privacy settings mean that you can control what details people see. I think now that you must always think about who you are sharing personal information with.”

Nuria Domene, 22, a third year human rights and law student said: “I was 16 when I joined IRC (Internet Relay Chat) and met three people who are still good friends now.

“Because of the media I wonder if we are all a bit paranoid. But it is good to be safe and to pass that message to children.”