NCJ Number
231993
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 34 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2010 Pages: 570-575
Date Published
August 2010
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study examined the sociodemographic and psychological characteristics of 36 men arraigned by the Swiss police for the use of child pornography on the Internet, all of whom had been charged by a judge and ordered to undergo psychiatric assessment at the Geneva Institute of Legal Medicine prior to trial.
Abstract
All of the men had downloaded and watched pedopornographic material. Seventy percent had purchased child pornography, and 60 percent had exchanged files using peer-to-peer networks. Only one offender had uploaded pornographic material he had fabricated himself. None of the offenders were charged for attempting to contact children online. The study did not reveal any specific features pertaining to the age or degree of social integration of the offenders, who were comparable to the general population in Switzerland. The rate of diagnosed personality disorders was high, with a majority of disorders comprising anxiety-related and fear-related traits. The sample had a high rate of addictive tendencies, particularly in the field of Internet use; no diagnosis of alcoholism or illicit drug addiction was made. An addictive tendency in the sexual realm was evident on the Sexual Compulsivity Scale. There is evidence that those attracted to Internet child pornography have significant fantasy capacities but are strongly inhibited in following through with real-world contacts with child victims, as evidenced by the lack of criminal record for sexual offenses. On the other hand, in some cases the offender had engaged in questionable behaviors, such as frequent travel to countries known for sex tourism (n=5), spare-time activities in organizations that facilitate contact with children (n=15), and frequent changes of residence without obvious reasons (n=5). 40 references