CSAM & Predators - Offender Characteristics

April 24, 2014.  by Frank Kardasz

Selected information from An Empirical Study of the Personality Characteristics of Internet Sex Offenders, by Tomak, Weschler, Ghahramanlou et al., in the Journal of Sexual Aggression.

An "empirical" study denotes that the information is derived from or relating to experiment and observation rather than theory.  The authors examined Internet sex offenders by reviewing records from The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) psych test  for Internet sex crime offenders in a treatment facility; against a control group of in-custody non-Internet sex offenders.  

The authors noted several limitations to their research (Tomak et al., p.145), including the fact that the MMPI-2 is not a perfect measure, a less than ideal control group in the study, and that offenders may manipulate their answers in order to present themselves in the most favorable light.
Nonetheless, some interesting, if not intuitive, information emerged:

• The creation of the internet seems to have resulted in an increased level of heterogeneity (differences) among sex offenders and has created a new type of sex criminal who targets and victimizes children, the internet sex offender (Tomak et al., p. 141).

• ...it stands to reason that an offender group that relies on costly technology (i.e. computers with internet) would include a demographic known for its higher socioeconomic status and educational background.  It also stands to reason that a sex offender group that is more easily concealed (Bates & Metcalf, 2007) is more likely to attract and maintain spousal relationships (Tomak et al., p.145)

• In essence, the internet allows a way for predators to perfect their craft and test personal skills while avoiding detection. The abundance of child pornography on the internet is of particular concern due to its likelihood to fuel fantasy, which could in effect exacerbate offending behaviour and accelerate the offence cycle (Curnoe & Langevin, 2002) (in Tomak et al., p.146).

References

Bates, A. & Metcalf, C. (2007). A psychometric comparison of internet and non-internet sex offenders from a community treatment sample. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 13, 11-20.

Curnoe, S. & Langevin, R. (2002). Personality and deviant sexual fantasies: An examination of the MMPIs of sex offenders. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58, 803-815.

Tomak, S., Weschler, F., Ghahramanlou-Holloway, M., Virden, T., & Nademin, M. (July 2009). An empirical study of the personality characteristics of internet sex offenders. Journal of Sexual Aggression. Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 139-148.

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