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availability, affordability, and anonymity (Cooper’s Triple A Engine) minimized offenders’ perceived risk
in possessing child pornography.
With child pornography easily available, offenders considered it equivalent to other material available for
download online, such as adult pornography and music:
It seemed like downloading [child pornography] was sanctioned—it wasn’t treated any
differently than other subject matters and seemed to be sanctioned by the government
because they didn’t try to stop it from being included in the software. In my mind, it was
human sexuality and curiosity. (F5)
I didn’t even think about it—I thought it was free and it was on the Internet … I didn’t
think it was any more illegal to download and have than MP3s. I knew it was morally
bad—but watching people get killed was just as bad. I didn’t put together that it was so
illegal because I am not making it—I am downloading what is free on the Internet. … I
didn’t think this was a worse crime. (A9)
The large amount of available child pornography led to a feeling of invisibility. Many offenders felt that
their participation was “small potatoes” when compared to the quantity of material and amount of users
online:
I thought with as accessible as it is, I wondered why they’d come after me because I am
the little fish … Child pornography is all over the Internet, so I figured, how bad it could
be. (G2)
Anonymity was aided by the fact that users did not have to risk identification by patronizing sex shops or
providing their name and address to receive materials by mail (Taylor and Quayle 2003). With the advent
of the Internet, offenders can engage with online networks and download material from the privacy of
their home:
It’s very different from other crimes. Not planning anything. Don’t go out of the house. In
a secluded room, feel isolated from the consequences, from the reality of what you’re
doing. (D23)
Though a few offenders were aware of law enforcement entities that focus on investigating and
prosecuting online child pornography, one offender was unaware that the Internet was monitored:
I knew I was committing a crime. I just didn’t think they’d be hunting through the
Internet for it. I thought it would require some knowledge I was doing it, I didn’t realize
there was an Internet police. (D22)
Offenders in the sample who did not produce or pay for child pornography (n = 17, 81 percent) commonly
defended their behavior because, in their estimation, they were not supporting an illegal activity, only
viewing images. Research has identified this justification as a common cognitive distortion that enables
offenders to justify their actions (Merdian, Wilson and Boer 2009; Taylor and Quayle 2003). In their
minds, those who bought or produced child pornography are the serious transgressors:
I think in the back of my mind, a case of gray area. Yes, it’s illegal, but I’m not producing
this. I’m not physically harming anyone is the thought you justify with. I’m just
downloading pictures and storing them and putting them away. (A12)
Motives for Wanting Child Pornography
Researchers have identified both sexual and non-sexual motives for desiring child pornography (Elliot
and Beech 2009; Lanning 2010). Offenders with sexual motives can have a variety of deviant sexual
interests, including a particular sexual preference for children. Non-sexual motives include curiosity, as
well as offenders who distribute or produce child pornography to earn money (Lanning 2010).
While the interview did not ask about offenders’ reasons for collecting child pornography, some offenders
touched upon this topic. As previously discussed, almost half of the sample (n = 10, 48 percent) reported
their onset offense as unintentional. They “stumbled across” child pornography, usually while
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