Digital Child Pornography: A Practical Guide for Investigators
... Offenders generally begin searching using broad terms like "preteen nude" that are eventually refined to target specific content, using terms of art like "PTHC" (preteen hardcore) or "boylover". The use of these terms leads searchers to chat rooms, forums, and websites where they can acquire their target content (Steel, 2014). For those distributing CSEM, search engines represent the primary mechanism for advertising their wares. ...
... The top terms are then used to evaluate three specific areas of CSEM consumption. First, the use of mobile devices to search for web-based CSEM is evaluated, and the belief that individuals seeking CSEM are early adopters of that technology is assessed (Steel, 2014). Second, the impact of the recent actions by Microsoft and Google to eliminate child pornography from their indices and deter CSEM-related queries is reviewed. ...
... r@ygold) and with other queries growing in popularity due to new delivery mechanisms (e.g. searches including the term "imgsrc.ru", a site popular with child pornographers) (Steel, 2014). ...
Our study is the first to look at mobile device use for child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) consumption, and at the global impact of deterrence efforts by search providers. We used data from Google, Bing, and Yandex to assess how web searches for CSEM are being conducted, both at present and historically. Our findings show that the blocking efforts by Google and Microsoft have resulted in a 67% drop in the past year in web-based searches for CSEM. Additionally, our findings show that mobile devices are a substantial platform for web-based consumption of CSEM, with tablets and smartphones representing 32% of all queries associated with CSEM conducted on Bing. Further, our findings show that a major search engine not located in the United States, Yandex, did not undertake blocking efforts similar to those implemented by Google and Microsoft and has seen no commensurate drop in CSEM searches and continues to profit from ad revenue on these queries. While the efforts by Google and Microsoft have had a deterrence effect in the United States, searchers from Russia and other locations where child pornography possession is not criminalized have continued to use these services. Additionally, the same lax enforcement environment has allowed searchers from the United States to utilize Yandex with little fear of detection or referral to United States law enforcement from the Russian authorities.
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... To ascertain the specific strains on the participants during the investigation that caused anxiety, they were asked to rank seven negative outcomes associated with CSEM offences based on common concerns expressed during investigations and treatment as well as concerns cited in prior research (Byrne et al., 2012;Lanning, 2010;Steel, 2014) from 1 to 7, with 1 being the most concerning: ...
... Looking at the investigative process, investigators can address the perceived lack of fairness, understanding, and compassion by helping to place the offender's actions in a whole-person context, as evidenced in some of the qualitative responses, and by highlighting the positive aspects of the offender apart from their criminal behaviour. Effective interviewing of CSEM offenders requires the investigator to not show contempt or further stigmatise the subject to build effective rapport (Steel, 2014), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation advocates that "investigators must respond with compassion and understanding" (Bowling & Resch, 2005, p. 5) in subject interviews and interrogations regarding CSEM. Because investigators are also psychological first responders, adopting a Rogerian unconditional positive regard approach to their interaction may assist in encouraging further counselling interactions (Rogers, 1957). ...
Understanding the prevalence of suicidal ideation in Child Sexual Exploitation Material (CSEM) offenders and their psychological concerns provides the basis for early treatment and intervention. This research solicited responses (n = 78) via an anonymous, web-based survey from adults in the United States previously convicted of CSEM offences. Significant suicidal ideation was present in 73% of respondents (n = 57), and 19% (n = 15) reported attempting suicide after they were made aware of an investigation, with 41% (n = 32) stating they would have been likely to seek counselling if provided a contact. Most of the respondents felt they were not treated with fairness, understanding, and compassion by investigators, and that their primary psychological strains were going to jail and their families finding out. This research highlights the need for more empathetic investigative approaches, as well as the need for more rapid assessment and treatment of proximal suicide risk in this population.
... Research indicates that viewers can devolve over time in their explicit searches from terms such as "young teen sex pictures" to eventually searching less ambiguous terms meant to eliminate the false positives for more explicit and often illegal content. [11] These terms can be gathered from Thumbnail Gallery Porn (TGP) sites, which do not host content themselves, but link to external sites instead, and Steel notes that viewers will sometimes utilize search engines such as Google or Bing's Image Search as a pseudo-TGP site. [11] Indeed, our investigation found that the subject utilized Bing in exactly this way. ...
... [11] These terms can be gathered from Thumbnail Gallery Porn (TGP) sites, which do not host content themselves, but link to external sites instead, and Steel notes that viewers will sometimes utilize search engines such as Google or Bing's Image Search as a pseudo-TGP site. [11] Indeed, our investigation found that the subject utilized Bing in exactly this way. ...
... General collecting behavior was assessed by asking respondents if they ever tried to collect all of the images in a given series or for a given individual depicted. The respondents were additionally asked how they had organized their collections (multiple selections were permitted) based on common categorizations found during digital forensics examinations (Steel, 2014): ...
... The categories were identified based on the top eight categories identified by the Pornhub Insights team as the most popular on their site, the largest adult SEM site on the Internet (The 2019 year in review -Pornhub insights, n.d.). Additionally, four categories of deviant SEM frequently associated with CSEM (Endrass et al., 2009;Seigfried-Spellar & Rogers, 2013;Steel, 2014) were identified for inclusion -bestiality, nudism/naturism, rape/forced sex, and hentai. The categories were presented in a randomized order to both populations. ...
Background
The collecting behaviors of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) offenders provide insight into their cognitions and motivations that have clinical applications.
Objective
This study analyzed the CSEM collecting and viewing behaviors of previously convicted offenders.
Participants and settings
A postal letter soliciting participation in an online survey was sent to adults previously convicted of CSEM offenses in the United States. Comparison information from a non-offending population of adults within the United States (N = 524) was collected and compared to the CSEM respondents (N = 78).
Method
A mixed-methods approach was utilized. The CSEM group was compared to a gender-matched sample from the non-offending group for general adult sexual exploitation material (SEM) viewing. Exploratory analyses of CSEM offender behaviors related to collecting, collection diversity, and recidivism were conducted.
Results
The majority (78%) of the offenders did not organize their content and 74% deleted their entire collection on at least one occasion. Offenders viewed more diverse categories of adult SEM than non-offenders, including more bestiality, hentai, teen, and nudist/naturist material. None of the offenders viewed CSEM exclusively, and 74% viewed more adult SEM than CSEM. The age range of CSEM content viewed did not support highly preferential viewing but did support general novelty seeking. The self-reported recidivism rate was 10%, with infrequent post-conviction CSEM activity.
Conclusion
Treatment professionals should not assume that pedophilic interests are the sole or even primary motivator for CSEM behavior. Problematic Internet usage, general pornography consumption, coping issues, or novelty seeking may be more appropriate targets for some offenders.
... Understanding the technological behaviours of online child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) offenders is useful in assessing and developing effective treatments (Quayle and Taylor, 2002a), in deterrence efforts (Quayle and Koukopoulos, 2019;Steel, 2015), for investigative purposes (Jewkes and Andrews, 2005;Steel, 2014a;Wells et al., 2007), and for sentencing and probation purposes (Hamilton, 2011). This includes technologies used by individuals to acquire and view CSEM from others -for example peer-to-peer technologies permit perceived anonymity when downloading with no social interaction, while email acquisition requires direct contact and communication with other offenders. ...
... While the IWF data shows a growth in reported websites, other research shows a decline in the availability of sites through traditional search engines. The use of the web, primarily search engines, is a potential entry point for individuals initially seeking CSEM (Steel, 2014a), though the empirical research on this is limited. In 2008, between .19 and .27 ...
Starting with electronic Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs), Usenet and email, the adoption and continued use of technology to facilitate the viewing and possession of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) has been of research interest for investigation, treatment, intervention, and interdiction purposes, and has been used in developing risk assessment tools. In this review, a systematic search of databases containing peer reviewed journal and conference papers as well as grey literature was conducted to identify prior quantitative research using the SPIDER methodology. The search was broken into a search for general technology usage, which identified 1,093 papers, and a search for countermeasure usage, which identified 3,190 papers. Following a title and abstract triage, then a subsequent full text review of the remaining papers, 33 papers were identified for inclusion as meeting relevancy and quality standards as measured by a modified Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies analysis. The review found long term trends indicative of a slow growth in collection sizes with growing percentages of video content. Additionally, offenders continued to use technologies beyond their normative usage periods and only adopted new technologies once capabilities specific to offender needs were incorporated into those technologies. Finally, the review noted issues with current countermeasures research in not adequately addressing integrated countermeasures that are enabled by default in newer technologies, and with general technology research in using older data and not including mixed-method technologies.
... Understanding these cognitive distortions can be helpful in developing early interventions (Houtepen et al., 2014), in investigative efforts (Steel, 2014), in risk assessments (Garrington et COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS IN CSEM OFFENDERS 4 al., 2018;Seto & Eke, 2015), and in treatment , and as such there is extensive interest in understanding what cognitions are present in CSEM offenders and how they differ from the cognitions present in both contact offenders and non-offenders. ...
... There were no limitations placed on study design for this review, however the search was limited to publications within the past ten years. Because of the changing nature of Internet consumption of child pornography (Steel, 2014) and the delay in information collected (all of the studies were post-offense, some by several years), studies were limited to those published in the last ten years (since 2009). Additionally, focusing on more recent studies reduces any potential bias due to the changing demographics of online offenders as well as any bias related to the populations sampled as a result of the changing law enforcement response to CSEM offenses (Wolak et al., 2011). ...
The aim of this review was to analyse and synthesize the results of prior research into the cognitive distortions present in online child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) consumers. A systematic search of databases containing peer reviewed articles as well as grey literature was conducted for prior studies involving the cognitions of CSEM offenders using the SPIDER methodology. Twenty articles were identified for inclusion following a full text review and a Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) quality analysis. The instruments used were reviewed and summarized, and the level of endorsement present in the measured characteristics was analysed. The study's findings show that overall endorsement of cognitive distortions traditionally associated with contact sex offenders by CSEM offenders was low, and that existing sex offender instruments are largely ineffective tools for use with CSEM offenders. Newer assessment instruments built specifically for online offenders show promise, with overall moderate endorsements present in tools such as the Cognitions on Internet Sexual Offending scale (CISO), but additional research is needed to validate this approach.
... This poses a serious challenge for law enforcement agencies in their efforts to identify and apprehend those involved in these reprehensible activities, as the criminals can easily hide their real identities and evade detection. The exploitation of children through these networks is a grave violation of human rights and can cause immense harm to vulnerable victims Horning (2013) & Steel (2014. In 2015, a dark web marketplace called "Playpen" was discovered by law enforcement agencies. ...
Onion routing networks, or darknets, enable anonymous communication, protecting user privacy and attracting cybercriminals. This paper analyzes cybercrime in these networks, including drug trafficking, fraud, and hacking. The challenges seen in the detection and miti-gation of these crimes arising as the result of strong anonymity and explore countermeasures such as law enforcement, technological solutions, and policy interventions have been discussed, as also highlighting of the limitations of current measures and proposals for future research, with emphasis on the need for interdisciplinary approaches combining technical, legal, and social perspectives.
... In addition to the approaches adopted from adult SEM and environment-based approaches, others have used various language models to identify CSEM content based on file naming. CSEM offenders use domain-specific terms that are reflected in metadata such as filename conventions that are distinct from other content and specific to a particular technology -e.g., web-based search terms differ from those on peer-to-peer networks (Panchenko, Beaufort, & Fairon, 2012;Steel, 2014a). The use of unusual terms with unusual parsing characteristics (e.g., "R@yGold"), as well as the lack of a large enough corpus, limits the applicability of LLM-based approaches trained on general language datasets, but success has been shown with feature models that use multi-word phrases for context (Peersman et al., 2016). ...
The capabilities and lay usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools has rapidly expanded in the past decade, and some Child Sexual Exploitation Material (CSEM) offenders have rapidly adopted AI into their technology affordances. This has resulted in an arms race between offensive and defensive usage of AI, and with the first legal cases surrounding AI-based CSEM currently in the courts, significant legislative and policy decisions are on the horizon. This paper explores both the offensive and defensive uses of AI related to CSEM offending in the areas of content detection, online grooming/social CSEM, and generative AI-based CSEM creation. Additionally, the paper provides potential uses of AI based on the current technologies and explores their potential research impact. Finally, this paper lays out a research agenda, identifying key gaps in both computer science and social science research related to this topic.
... This paper introduces Lawless Space Theory (LST), a new model for understanding the technological behaviours of cyber offenders, which is presented through the lens of online CSEM offending. Understanding CSEM offenders' technological behaviours is important for deterrence efforts (Quayle & Koukopoulos, 2019;Steel, 2015), for treatment planning and implementation (Quayle & Taylor, 2002b), and to better inform the legal response (Hamilton, 2011;Jewkes & Andrews, 2005;Steel, 2014;T. Ward, 2019;Wells et al., 2007). ...
Deterrence, treatment and legal response to online child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) offenders is enhanced by the joint consideration of technological behaviours and cognitions. CSEM offenders choose an environment based on both psychosexual needs and utility, and in turn that environment shapes future behaviour and reinforces cognitive distortions. This paper introduces lawless space theory, a theory of cyber criminality which posits that offenders will primarily choose and utilize a perceived lawless space that best meets their psychosocial and criminogenic needs in the most frictionless way; habituation and differential association in the lawless space will reduce the perceived risk; normalization will increase comfort in a particular lawless space, increasing friction costs that must be overcome to switch technologies; and additional countermeasures will only be implemented by offenders to reduce perceived risk and lower cognitive dissonance, but not at the expense of utility. The theory is explored through the exemplar of CSEM offences and offers explanatory power for the lifecycle of a lawless space, the use of legacy spaces in the presence of objectively more capable options, the simultaneous use of multiple spaces to meet different psychosexual needs, and the adoption of new technologies by offenders. Additionally, the gateway choice and progression of lawless space usage informs investigations, risk assessments, and deterrence efforts and provides behavioural treatment targets.
... The options provided regarding technologies were generated based on a review of technology usage by CSEM offenders (Steel et al., 2020) as well as commonly used technologies encountered as part of CSEM investigations (Steel, 2014). ...
An exploration of the technological behaviours of previously convicted child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) offenders provides a foundation for future applied research into deterrence, investigation, and treatment efforts. This study evaluates the technology choices and transitions of individuals previously convicted of CSEM offenses. Based on their inclusion in two sex offender registries, anonymous survey results (n=78) were collected from English-speaking adults within the United States. CSEM offenders chose technologies based on both utility and perceived risk; peer-to-peer and web-browsers were the most common gateway technologies and showed substantial sustained usage; a substantial minority of users never stored CSEM and only viewed it; most respondents used more than one technology to view CSEM; CSEM offenders used more countermeasures than the public but did not use encryption at higher rates; almost all CSEM consumers started viewing adult SEM first; and countermeasures were used primarily to reduce psychological strain (anxiety).
... Understanding CSEM offenders' technological behaviours is important for deterrence efforts (Quayle & Koukopoulos, 2019;Steel, 2015), for treatment planning and implementation (Quayle & Taylor, 2002b), and to better inform the legal response (Hamilton, 2011;Jewkes & Andrews, 2005;Steel, 2014;T. Ward, 2019;Wells et al., 2007). ...
Deterrence, treatment and legal responses to online child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) offenders is enhanced by the joint consideration of technological behaviours and cognitions. CSEM offenders choose an environment based on both psychosocial needs and utility, and in turn that environment shapes future behaviour and reinforces cognitive distortions. This paper introduces lawless space theory, which posits that offenders will primarily choose and utilize a perceived lawless space that best meets their psychosexual needs in the most frictionless way; habituation and differential association in the lawless space will reduce the perceived risk; normalization will increase comfort in a particular lawless space, increasing friction costs that must be overcome to switch technologies; and additional countermeasures will only be implemented by offenders to reduce perceived risk and lower cognitive dissonance, but not at the expense of utility. The theory offers explanatory power for the lifecycle of a lawless space, the use of legacy spaces in the presence of objectively more capable options, the simultaneous use of multiple spaces to meet different psychosexual needs, and the adoption of new technologies by offenders. Additionally, the gateway choice and progression of lawless space usage informs investigations, risk assessments, and deterrence efforts and provides behavioural treatment targets.
... In a 1997 study (Taylor & Quayle, 2003), researchers from the COPINE project noted that 518 CSEM consumers used chat rooms to exchange CSEM and indulge in role playing in which adults played the roles of both children and adults (Carr, 2001;Wortley & Smallbone, 2006). While in the past IRC chatting was considered a common channel of exchange, used by more than two thirds of those arrested for the possession and distribution of CSEM (Carr, 2004;Roy, 2004), many other technologies are now used and involve chat forums and other services that openly share content over darknet networks (Steel, 2014). ...
Script theory explains how different types of crime may be committed in a particular sequence. While researchers have traditionally been interested in crimes against property and crimes against persons, this study analyzes a new form of crime: sexual crimes committed on the Internet. The objective of the present study was to review the scientific literature and investigate how viewing and creating Child Sexual Exploitation Material (CSEM) can be understood dynamically. It is suggested that a motivated CSEM user, in acquiring new knowledge and techniques, goes through many stages and obstacles that lead ultimately to the contact sexual abuse of children. It is important to note that only a small proportion of individuals who follow the scripts described move on to the next step. The focus here is on the context and not on any causality between the steps, as the latter has not been demonstrated. Specifically, this study looked at the offenders’ path from consumption of adult pornography, to consumption of CSEM, to its distribution, to child luring, and, finally, to child sexual abuse and production of CSEM. The limitations and implications of the study are discussed.
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