Internet Sex Offenders

Significant increases in the number of arrests of individuals who download or distribute Child Sexual Exploitation Material (CSEM) has highlighted a need to further understand the pathways to offending of this relatively new offender group. Merdian et al. (2018) developed an aetiological model specific to CSEM offending, producing seven superordinate themes associated with: early developmental issues, offence-related (risk and protective) propensities, personal circumstances at the time of offending, permission-giving thoughts (and their interaction with online sexual arousal), modes of engagement with the internet, evaluation of personal consequences of offending, and desistence-inhibiting or -enhancing factors. The model has now been tested in group and individual treatment, and with offenders across the life span. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to the model and its underlying research base and will discuss current risk assessment and complex case formulation for online offenders, using a range of clinical case examples and practical tools