Study: Child porn possessors likely abusers
By: Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer
March 19, 2009
People convicted of possessing child pornography are likely to have sexually abused many children, a study has found.
The Journal of Family Violence published in December a study that examined 155 inmates convicted of child pornography possession with no indication during trial that they had inappropriately touched children. Through the course of treatment, however, 131 inmates admitted to having at least one hands-on sexual offense.
Of the 155, 40 had a criminal history of abusing children before being caught with child pornography. They reported during therapy having abused an average of 19 victims each. The remaining 115 with no known history of child abuse reported abusing an average of nine victims.
“It is safe to say there is a correlation, and it may be significant,” one of the study’s two authors, U.S. Marshals Service psychologist Michael Bourke, told The Examiner. The legal system and treatment providers “often treat these as two dichotomous groups: hands-on offenders and hands-off,” Bourke said. “This study shows that notion should be challenged.”
Prosecutors recently incorporated that idea in their argument for a lengthy sentencing for 53-year-old Thomas “Randy” White of Arlington, who was convicted of child pornography possession and is expected to be sentenced Friday. “Child pornography offenses include a significant element of danger, because there is a strong correlation between viewing these images and then acting upon them to sexually abuse children,” they wrote.
Bourke said the study should also be applied to provide greater depth to police investigations. “Right now investigators go out, get a warrant and find child pornography, and the case is closed. ... They should be going out and trying to identify children who may need help after coming in contact with [the child pornography possessor],” he said.
When they do, they’ll have to address the issue of gender and age crossover, Bourke said.
The study also found that offenders who reported having male victims were very likely to have female victims as well. There’s little sexuality in a young child or infant, Bourke said.
With that in mind, Bourke said, police should be questioning children of both genders about inappropriate contact, not just the children of the gender found on a sex offender’s computer.
“We don’t want investigators to stop after interviewing little boys in the neighborhood when little girls may have been abused, too” Bourke said.
