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Key research themes
1. How can crowdsourcing and community engagement enhance intelligence gathering to combat online child sexual exploitation?
This area investigates the application of crowdsourcing platforms to augment law enforcement agencies' capabilities in identifying and addressing online child sexual exploitation (OCSE). It focuses on optimizing public participation, balancing victim privacy with actionable intelligence, and managing transaction costs in processing crowd-sourced data. Insights concern platform accessibility, user trust, and feedback mechanisms to improve tip quality and volume.
Key finding: Europol’s SCATO platform employs a crowdsourcing methodology to engage the public in identifying objects linked to victims in online child sexual exploitation cases. The study finds SCATO is user-friendly and accessible,... Read more
Key finding: Introduces a novel multi-layered honeypot system integrated with social networks designed to educate and deter potential users from accessing child exploitation material. Unlike traditional punitive approaches, this... Read more
Key finding: Proposes and categorizes three methodological techniques—mirroring, monitoring, and leaks—for criminologists to collect and analyze online offender data. The paper highlights the utility of real-time and ongoing observation... Read more
2. What are the typologies and psychological characteristics differentiating online child sexual offenders, particularly between fantasy-driven and contact-driven offenders?
This theme centers on distinguishing offender profiles based on their interaction with child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) and contact offences. It examines psychological makeup, risk factors, motivations, and behavioral patterns that differentiate offenders engaging exclusively in online offenses ('fantasy-driven') versus those committing contact offences or both ('contact-driven' or 'dual offenders'). These distinctions are vital for tailored risk assessment and treatment approaches.
Key finding: Highlights distinct differences among individuals who exclusively possess child pornography, those committing contact sexual offences, and mixed offenders. The paper emphasizes that many Internet Child Pornography Offenders... Read more
Key finding: Using statistical and spatial methods, this study identifies distinct subgroups of CSEM users—fantasy-driven offenders who engage primarily in non-contact offenses for sexual gratification and contact-driven offenders who are... Read more
Key finding: Through a large-scale data linkage study, the authors demonstrate that CEM offenders, contact-only offenders, and dual offenders differ significantly in antisocial orientation and sexual deviance. CEM offenders show high... Read more
Key finding: Develops an empirically-based qualitative typology of online child sexual offenders, distinguishing between offenders seeking offline sexual contact, those engaged solely in online sexual interactions, and hybrid types with... Read more
3. How do online offenders communicate, manage risk, and manipulate victims during online sexual offenses involving children?
This research domain explores the communicative strategies, identity protection measures, and psychological narratives employed by internet child sexual offenders during online interactions with victims, including grooming and solicitation. It also analyzes offenders' awareness and use of technologies for anonymity and evasion of law enforcement, as well as their self-reported accounts minimizing culpability and progression of offending behavior.
Key finding: Reviews indicate offenders use a combination of legacy and advanced technologies to perpetrate abuses but show marked variability in awareness and employment of security measures. Surprisingly, many apprehended offenders did... Read more
Key finding: Through thematic and discursive analysis of chat transcripts, the study identifies distinct offender communication styles categorized as intimacy-seeking, hypersexual, and adaptable offenders. The research reveals linguistic... Read more
Key finding: Qualitative analysis of offender narratives indicates a common minimization of agency, with offenders attributing offending onset to curiosity or accidental circumstances. Many deny or downplay the offense's severity or... Read more