An exploration of child exploitation in a juror simulation study

Mock jurors (N = 317) read a simulated trial transcript involving a case of internet luring with the intent of producing child pornography. This study examined the influence of victim characteristics, specifically, race of the victim (First Nations vs. Thai vs. Caucasian), gender of the victim (male vs. female), and age of the victim (8 vs. 12 years) on jurors' perceptions of the victim and defendant, as well as guilt ratings. Race, gender, and age of the victim were not found to significantly influence jurors' perceptions of the victim or defendant. Overall, juror's rated the victim more positively than the defendant. Victim characteristics were not found to influence guilt ratings of the defendant. Juror's assigned high guilt ratings across victim conditions. The data suggest that regardless of victim characteristics, the jurors' held the defendant responsible for his actions. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed