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<strong>Child</strong> PornograPhy First report oF the Dutch NatioNal rapporteur
Perpetrators and victims
<strong>Child</strong> abuse material is also used by perpetrators to groom children as well as to blackmail potential
victims. 236 In this way, it performs a function in committing other criminal acts, such trafficking in human
beings, corruption and grooming.
1.4.2 Perpetrators
‘an individual who […]’
Producers, distributors and possessors of child abuse material, as well as those who intentionally view
such material, and perpetrators of sexual violence against children in general, form a very diverse
group. 237 The categories described below are merely intended to provide the reader with some insight
into the various forms of perpetrator that exist within the realm of child pornography. The reality is
more complex, however, as perpetrator categories are not mutually exclusive and the sequence of actions
within a modus operandi may vary in practice. In this report, we refer to perpetrators or offenders
with a preferential or exclusive sexual preference for children and/or situational perpetrators or offenders. 238
A sexual preference for children need not manifest itself in criminal acts, however. In the event that a
sexual offence is ultimately committed, the perpetrator may have passed through various stages prior
to the criminal offence in which there was only an inner compulsion or urge to commit the offence. 239
Preferential and situational offenders
The literature on child pornography and other sex offences 240 distinguishes between two general types
of offenders, namely preferential offenders and situational offenders. The preferential offender has a
preferential or exclusive sexual inclination towards children, 241 whilst the situational offender commits
an offence as a result of the opportunity to do so or other contextual factors 242 : “the committed offender is
the opportunity-maker, 243 the opportunistic offender 244 is the opportunity-taker”. 245
The literature has shown it is certainly not always the case that producers of child abuse material and
particularly viewers have a preferential or exclusive sexual inclination towards children. According to
236 O’Donnell & Milner, 2007, p.86.
237 Lanning, 2010; Finkelhor, 2009.
238 Diagnostic terms such as ‘paedophile’ and ‘paedophilia’ from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders IV-TR are avoided in this report as much as possible. Paedophilia is understood
to refer to: having a sexual preference for children. Paedosexuality is understood to be: having sexual
contact with children. Not all paedophiles are paedosexuals (not every individual with sexual feelings
towards children also actually has sexual contact with children), but not all paedosexuals are paedophiles
(not every individual that has sexual contact with children also has a sexual preference for
children).
239 O’Reilly et al., 2007, p.59.
240 Lanning, 2010; Beech et al., 2008; Van Wijk, 2010.
241 Van Wijk, 2010.
242 Van Wijk, 2010.
243 Committed offender is used to refer to the preferential offender.
244 Opportunistic offender is used to refer to the situational offender.
245 Smallbone et al., 2008, p.41.