Abstract
In this chapter, I provide a brief overview of what we know scientifically about online sexual offending, focusing on prevalence, perpetrator characteristics, recidivism rates, and risk assessment. For perpetrator characteristics, I focus on factors that distinguish online from contact offenders, and for risk assessment, I describe the development and validation of an online offender-specific risk assessment tool created to support the work of law enforcement (the Child Pornography Offender Risk Tool). I then discuss prevention and early intervention options, particularly more scalable technological responses, and conclude with directions for future research.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Disclosure: I’m a pro bono scientific advisor for Thorn, and Thorn funded the research study with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) described in the research report by Seto et al. (2018).
References
Andrews, D. A., & Bonta, J. (2010). Rehabilitating criminal justice policy and practice. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 16(1), 39–55. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018362
Babchishin, K. M., Hanson, R. K., & Hermann, C. A. (2011). The characteristics of online sex offenders: A meta-analysis. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 23, 92–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063210370708
Babchishin, K. M., Hanson, R. K., & VanZuylen, H. (2015). Online child pornography offenders are different: A meta-analysis of the characteristics of online and offline sex offenders against children. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44, 45–66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0270-x
Beck, A. J., & Blumstein, A. (2017). Racial disproportionality in US state prisons: Accounting for the effects of racial and ethnic differences in criminal involvement, arrests, sentencing, and time served [online first]. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 34, 853. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-017-9357-6
Bissias, G., Levine, B., Liberatore, M., Lynn, B., Moore, J., Wallach, H., & Wolak, J. (2016). Characterization of contact offenders and child exploitation material trafficking on five peer-to-peer networks. Child Abuse & Neglect, 52, 185–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.10.022
Canadian Centre for Child Protection. (2017). International survivors’ survey. See https://www.protectchildren.ca/en/resources-research/survivors-survey-results/
DeHart, D., Dwyer, G., Seto, M. C., Moran, R., Letourneau, E., & Schwarz-Watts, D. (2017). Internet sexual solicitation of children: A proposed typology of offenders based on their chats, E-mails, and social network posts. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 23, 77–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2016.1241309
Dombert, B., Schmidt, A. F., Banse, R., Briken, P., Hoyer, J., Neutze, J., & Osterheider, M. (2016). How common is men’s self-reported sexual interest in prepubescent children? Journal of Sex Research, 53, 214–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2015.1020108
Eke, A. W., Helmus, L. M., & Seto, M. C. (2019). A validation study of the Child Pornography Offender Risk Assessment Tool (CPORT) [online first]. Sexual Abuse.
Eke, A. W., Seto, M. C., & Williams, J. (2011). Examining the criminal history and future offending of child pornography offenders: An extended prospective follow-up study. Law and Human Behavior, 35(6), 466–478. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-010-9252-2
Faust, E., Bickart, W., Renaud, C., & Camp, S. (2015). Child pornography possessors and child contact sex offenders: A multilevel comparison of demographic characteristics and rates of recidivism. Sexual Abuse, 27(5), 460–478. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1079063214521469
Gewirtz-Meydan, A., Walsh, W., Wolak, J., & Finkelhor, D. (2018). The complex experience of child pornography survivors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 80, 238–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.03.031
Goller, A., Jones, R., Dittmann, V., Taylor, P., & Graf, M. (2016). Criminal recidivism of illegal pornography offenders in the overall population-a national cohort study of 4612 offenders in Switzerland. Advances in Applied Sociology, 6(2), 48–56. https://doi.org/10.4236/aasoci.2016.62005
Henshaw, M., Ogloff, J. R., & Clough, J. A. (2017). Looking beyond the screen: A critical review of the literature on the online child pornography offender. Sexual Abuse, 29(5), 416–445. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063215603690
Jenkins, P. (2001). Beyond tolerance: Child pornography on the Internet. NYU Press.
Koops, T., Turner, D., Neutze, J., & Briken, P. (2017). Child sex tourism–prevalence of and risk factors for its use in a German community sample. BMC Public Health, 17(1), 344. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4270-3
Long, M., Alison, L., Tejeiro, R., Hendricks, E., & Giles, S. (2016). KIRAT: Law enforcement’s prioritization tool for investigating indecent image offenders. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 22(1), 12–21. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000069
Mews, A., Di Bella, L., & Purver, M. (2017). Impact evaluation of the prison-based core sex offender treatment programme. London: Ministry of Justice.
Quayle, E., & Jones, T. (2011). Sexualized images of children on the internet. Sexual Abuse, 23(1), 7–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063210392596
Ray, J. V., Kimonis, E. R., & Seto, M. C. (2014). Correlates and moderators of child pornography consumption in a community sample. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 26(6), 523–545. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063213502678
Seto, M. C. (2018). The motivation facilitation model of sexual offending [online first]. Sexual Abuse.
Seto, M. C., Buckman, C., Dwyer, R. G., & Quayle, E. (2018). Production and active trading of child sexual exploitation images depicting identified victims [research report]. Available from: https://www.missingkids.com/content/dam/ncmec/en_us/Production%20and%20Active%20Trading%20of%20CSAM_FullReport_FINAL.pdf
Seto, M. C., & Eke, A. W. (2015). Predicting recidivism among adult male child pornography offender: Development of the Child Pornography Offender Risk Tool (CPORT). Law and Human Behavior, 39(4), 416–429. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000128
Seto, M. C., & Eke, A. W. (2017). Correlates of admitted sexual interest in children among child pornography offenders. Law and Human Behavior, 41(3), 305–313. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000240
Seto, M. C., Hanson, R. K., & Babchishin, K. M. (2011). Contact sexual offending by men with online sexual offenses. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 23(1), 124–145. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063210369013
Seto, M. C., Hermann, C. A., Kjellgren, C., Priebe, G., Svedin, C. G., & Långström, N. (2015). Viewing child pornography: Prevalence and correlates in a representative community sample of young Swedish men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44(1), 67–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-013-0244-4
Seto, M. C., Sandler, J. C., & Freeman, N. J. (2017a). The revised Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests: Predictive and concurrent validity. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 29, 636–657. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063215618375
Seto, M. C., Stephens, S., Lalumière, M. L., & Cantor, J. M. (2017b). The revised Screening Scale for Pedophilic Interests (SSPI-2): Development and criterion-related validation. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 29, 619–635. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063215612444
Seto, M. C., Wood, J. M., Babchishin, K. M., & Flynn, S. (2012). Online solicitation offenders are different from child pornography offenders and lower risk contact sexual offenders. Law and Human Behavior, 36(4), 320–330. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0093925
Seto, M. C. (2013). Internet sex offenders. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Seto, M. C. (2018). Pedophilia and sexual offending against children: Theory, assessment, and intervention (2nd edition). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association
Seto, M. C. (2019). The motivation facilitation model of sexual offending. Sexual Abuse, 31, 1–24
Seto, M. C., Cantor, J. M., & Blanchard, R. (2006). Child pornography offenses are a valid diagnostic indicator of pedophilia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115(3), 610–615. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.115.3.610
Steel, C. M. (2009). Child pornography in peer-to-peer networks. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33(8), 560–568. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.12.011
United States Sentencing Commission. (2012). 2012 Report to the Congress: Federally sentenced child pornography offenses. Retrieved from https://www.ussc.gov/research/congressional-reports/2012-report-congress-federal-child-pornography-offenses
Wolak, J., Liberatore, M., & Levine, B. N. (2014). Measuring a year of child pornography trafficking by US computers on a peer-to-peer network. Child Abuse & Neglect, 38(2), 347–356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.10.018
Wakeling, H. C., Howard, P., & Barnett, G. (2011). Comparing the validity of the RM2000 scales and OGRS3 for predicting recidivism by Internet sexual offenders. Sexual Abuse, 23(1), 146–168. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1079063210375974
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Seto, M.C. (2021). What Do We Know About Online Sexual Offending?. In: Caffo, E. (eds) Online Child Sexual Exploitation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66654-5_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66654-5_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-66653-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-66654-5
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)