413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

him to stop downloading child pornography, a reaction which law enforcement stakeholders regularly
witnessed.
Practice Implications
Accessible treatment for child pornography offenders is a vital part of the solution to combat child
pornography. Though resources are available to address online child pornography behavior, they are not
well publicized in the United States. The organization Stop It Now!, located in the United States and
United Kingdom, runs a helpline offering confidential support for adults concerned with their at-risk
behavior toward children. Another tool, the website Croga.org, offers self-help exercises for individuals
concerned about their child pornography behavior.
A lack of clarity regarding clinician reporting requirements prevents offenders from getting help, as
offenders will not seek help without understanding what information treatment providers must disclose
to law enforcement. Though mandated reporting laws vary by state, therapists are required to report if a
client is a danger to others. Clinicians may assume that any individual viewing child pornography is a risk,
especially if the individual has frequent contact with children. Easily accessible treatment resources, with
clearly communicated confidentiality agreements and reporting requirements, are essential to addressing
child pornography offender behavior.
Finding 5: Child pornography is commonly considered a victimless
crime by child pornography offenders who do not commit contact
offenses.
The majority of individuals interviewed for this study who were currently incarcerated for non-contact
child pornography offenses (possession and distribution) claimed to never have engaged in contact
offenses with children. Therefore, they believed, their crime was “victimless” since they were downloading
and/or trading the images—not producing new content. Some offenders even stated that downloading,
and in some cases trading, child pornography prevented them from abusing a child. However, others
viewed these acts as a gateway to producing their own images and videos. Several individuals that were
incarcerated for non-contact child pornography offenses stated that the punishment did not fit their crime
since they did not have direct contact with the victims.
Offenders were not the only ones to believe that the penalties associated with possessing and trading child
pornography were too harsh. According to stakeholders, there are judges who believe that cases in which
an individual is not physically abusing the child, only viewing the content, are essentially victimless.
Policy Implications
Although a section in the 1994 Violence Against Women Act indicates that victims of child pornography
should receive mandatory victim restitution, judges are struggling with not only calculating how much an
individual should pay in restitution based on the crime committed, but also whether the offender should
have to pay any restitution at all if they did not directly exploit the victim. While providing restitution to
the victim will not directly prevent the images and videos from being traded and downloaded, it will send
a powerful message to those who are trading and downloading child pornography images that they did not
commit a victimless crime. Providing judges with victim restitution guidelines will not only help the
victim but also send a much-needed message to child pornography offenders.
Practice Implications
The information included in pop-up window warnings, such as those currently used by Bing, should
incorporate a link to resources on how and why downloading and/or trading child pornography is not a
victimless crime. This practice will help educate individuals who are downloading and/or trading child
pornography (or are thinking about doing so) about the crime they are committing.
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