Child pornography and likelihood of contact abuse: a comparison between contact child sexual offenders and non-contact offenders.

This study examined a sample of 120 adult males convicted of offences involving indecent images of children (IIOC); 60 had a previous contact child sexual offence (dual offenders) and 60 had no evidence of an offence against a child. Analyses explored socio-demographic characteristics, previous convictions, and access to children. Of the 120 offenders, a subsample of 60 offenders (30 dual offenders and 30 non-contact) were further examined in terms of the quantity of IIOC, types of IIOC, and offending behavior. The study found the two offender groups could be discriminated by previous convictions, access to children, the number, proportion, and type of IIOC viewed. The IIOC preferences displayed within their possession differentiated dual offenders from non-contact IIOC offenders. Within group comparisons of the dual offenders differentiated sadistic rapists from sexual penetrative and sexual touching offenders. The paper suggests there may be a homology between IIOC possession, victim selection, and offending behavior. Implications for law enforcement are discussed in terms of likelihood of contact offending and assisting in investigative prioritization

Exploring Policing and Industry Practice in the Prevention of Online Child Sexual Abuse

This chapter considers child online protection in the context of a study funded by the European Commission which explored industry and policing practice in the prevention and investigation of online child sexual abuse cases. The research was conducted in four EU countries (United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, and the Netherlands) and employed a mixed-methods approach including stakeholder interviews; industry case studies; national police surveys in three countries; and a national youth victimisation survey in three countries. The findings suggest that the scale of online child sexual abuse continues to grow and that the police are ill-equipped to respond; front line police officers are the first to respond first but are not trained to do so, and finally, those officers who have received specialist training are more likely to respond appropriately and to feel confident in working on such cases. There are pockets of good practice but there is a need to foster more centralised collaborative procedures between industry and law enforcement, both at national and international levels