Criminal History & Future Offending of Juveniles Convicted of the Possession of Child Pornography

Most child pornography is distributed online. It is estimated that 3% to 15% of child pornography consumers are juveniles. 

The present study analyzed a consecutive sample of 54 male juveniles convicted of the possession of child pornography. Demographic characteristics, criminal history, and subsequent offending were assessed from criminal files and official reports. Juvenile possessors of child pornography were compared to three different groups of juveniles: Juvenile possessors of other illegal pornography (n = 42), juveniles who committed a sexual contact offense against a child (n = 64), and juveniles who committed a sexual contact offense against a peer or adult (n = 104). Juvenile possessors of child pornography were found to have downloaded the illegal material more frequently and over a longer time period than juvenile possessors of other illegal pornography. 

Furthermore, juvenile possessors of child pornography differed from juveniles who had committed a sexual contact offense in terms of demographics and showed fewer previous and subsequent offending than juveniles who sexually offended against a peer or adult. 

We conclude that juvenile possessors of child pornography need a specific target intervention focusing on dysfunctional Internet use and sexually deviant arousal.

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By: Aebi M1, Plattner B2, Ernest M2, Kaszynski K3, Bessler C2.

• 1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland maebi@ppkj.uzh.ch.
• 2Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
• 3Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USA. 

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Viewing Child Pornography: Prevalence & Correlates in a Representative Community Sample of Young Swedish Men

Most research on child pornography use has been based on selected clinical or criminal justice samples; risk factors for child pornography use in the general population remain largely unexplored. 

In this study, we examined prevalence, risk factors, and correlates of viewing depictions of adult-child sex in a population-representative sample of 1,978 young Swedish men (17-20 years, Mdn = 18 years, overall response rate, 77 %). 

In an anonymous, school-based survey, participants self-reported sexual coercion experiences, attitudes and beliefs about sex, perceived peer attitudes, and sexual interests and behaviors; including pornography use, sexual interest in children, and sexually coercive behavior. A total of 84 (4.2 %) young men reported they had ever viewed child pornography. 

Most theory-based variables were moderately and significantly associated with child pornography viewing and were consistent with models of sexual offending implicating both antisociality and sexual deviance. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, 7 of 15 tested factors independently predicted child pornography viewing and explained 42 % of the variance: ever had sex with a male, likely to have sex with a child aged 12-14, likely to have sex with a child 12 or less, perception of children as seductive, having friends who have watched child pornography, frequent pornography use, and ever viewed violent pornography. 

From these, a 6-item Child Pornography Correlates Scale was constructed and then cross-validated in a similar but independent Norwegian sample.

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By: Seto MC1, Hermann CA, Kjellgren C, Priebe G, Svedin CG, Långström N.

• 1Integrated Forensic Program, Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, 1804 Highway 2 East, Brockville, ON, K7V 5W7, Canada, michael.seto@theroyal.ca.  

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