Young victims of crimes connected with Internet dating sites more than doubled in 2002, led by a dramatic increase in child prostitution, according to a government report released Tuesday.
The 2003 white paper on the status of people aged 24 or younger says there were 1,317 victims of such crimes last year, an increase of 719 -- or 120 percent -- from 2001.
About 40 young people were victims of serious crimes such as murder or rape, seven times the number of cases when the Cabinet Office started collecting data in 2000. Sex-related crimes like prostitution were the most numerous, with 1,117 victims.