Sex Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children

Sexual Exploitation of Children (SEOC)

"Sexual exploitation of children is an overarching term that broadly refers to forms of sexual victimization perpetrated against a child. It includes child pornography offenses (receipt, possession, distribution, and production), as well as any offender who employs, persuades, induces, entices or coerces any minor to engage in explicit conduct (18 U.S. Code §2251)" (Owens, Eakin, Hoffer, Muirhead & Shelton, 2016).

Charismatic/Manipulative STJ Offenders

Characterized by behaviors, characteristics, and traits such as: Ø Superficial charm Ø Expression of cunning/manipulative behavior Ø Engagement of manipulative tactics Thinking about the PCL-R, what factor do you think fits most closely with this STJ offender type? ØFactor 1: Interpersonal/Affective ØFacet 1: Interpersonal ØFacet 2: Affective Ø Factor 2: Deviant/Antisocial Lifestyle Ø Facet 3: Lifestyle Ø Facet 4: Traits and Characteristics

Classification on the STJ Continuum

Charismatic/Manipulative Offenders Ø Non-violent Charismatic/Manipulative Ø Violent Charismatic/Manipulative Aggressive/Antisocial Offenders Ø Aggressive/Antisocial Subtype with Minor Charismatic/Manipulative Characteristics Ø Aggressive/Antisocial Subtype with No Charismatic/Manipulative Characteristics

Aggressive/Antisocial STJ Offenders

Primarily characterized by behaviors, characteristics, and traits such as: Ø Lack of superficial charm Ø Expression of aggressive and coercive behavior and tactics as primary methods employed to control and coerce victims Thinking about the PCL-R, what factor do you think fits most closely with this STJ offender type? ØFactor 1: Interpersonal/Affective ØFacet 1: Interpersonal ØFacet 2: Affective Ø Factor 2: Deviant/Antisocial Lifestyle Ø Facet 3: Lifestyle Ø Facet 4: Traits and Characteristics

Human Trafficking

Ø "Human trafficking is the use of force, fraud, or coercion to get another person to provide labor or commercial sex" (Polaris Project) Ø There are several types of human trafficking, including: Ø Forced labor Ø Organ trafficking Ø Child soldiers Ø Sex trafficking Ø Human trafficking does not have to involve any movement (e.g. smuggling, kidnapping, etc)

Investigative Aspects of Crossover Offending from a Sample of FBI Online Child Sexual Exploitation Cases (Owens et al., 2016)

Ø "In recent years the number of still images and videos memorializing the sexual assault and other sexual exploitation of children, many very young in age, has grown exponentially as the result of changes in technology," (United States Sentencing Commission, 2012 as cited in Owens et al., 2016, p.3) Ø "Statistics from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), a congressionally authorized clearinghouse for child pornography that assists criminal investigators, indicates that as of 2014, analysts have reviewed more than 147 million images and videos to assist law enforcement in their efforts to identify children depicted in the sexually abusive images," (NCMEC, 2016 as cited in Owens et al., 2016, p. 4)

What is Juvenile Sex Trafficking?

Ø "Sex trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which individuals perform commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Minors under the age of 18 engaging in commercial sex are considered to be victims of human trafficking, regardless of the use of force, fraud, or coercion" (National Human Trafficking Hotline, n.d., para. 1) Ø "Child sex trafficking involves the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, or advertising of a minor child for the purpose of a commercial sex act. Traffickers often prey upon a child's vulnerability and use psychological pressure and intimidation to control the child for financial benefit relating to their sexual exploitation" (NCMEC, 2016, para. 1).

Crossover Offending cont.

Ø 38% of cases (n=95) Ø 100% male Ø 97% Caucasian Ø Average age: 39 Ø 98% employed at the time of the offense Ø 21% held positions of trust (e.g. law enforcement, clergy, teacher, etc) Ø 62% had no prior criminal history

Crossover Offending

Ø Describes those offenders "...who engage in the possession/distribution of child pornography as well as other sexual crimes against children, including travel with intent, contact sexual abuse, and the production of child pornography" (Owens et al., 2016, p. 4) Ø Varied estimates: from 3-5% to 85%

Common Myths

Ø If the trafficked person gives any sort of consent initially, they are not considered victims Ø Trafficked persons are held against their will, locked away, etc. Ø Trafficked persons are free to leave whenever they want

STJ Offenders

Ø Patterson, Hargreaves-Cormany, & Muirhead (2013) found a high prevalence of psychopathy among STJ offenders Ø 24/36 scored 30 or higher on the PCL-R and 3/36 scored 29.5 (75% of the sample) Ø 9/36 surpassed the average score of North American adult male correctional inmates Ø Spidel et al. (2007) found that over 1/3 of a sample of 22 pimps scored over 30 on the PCL-R

STJ Offenders vs Other Sexual Offenders

Ø STJ offenders are instrumental or predatory and are motivated by financial gain and/or sexual gratification, while pedophiles are motivated by sexual preference/fantasy Ø STJ offenders tend to have a higher level of social competence Ø STJ offenders do not necessarily prefer their victims, but instead see them as vulnerable, accessible, and preferences of potential "clients"

Conclusions

Ø The act of viewing child pornography does not necessarily exist in isolation Ø The Internet is not creating a "new type" of child sex offender, instead it is a tool to better facilitate these offenders' crimes Ø Offenders' child pornography collections emphasized their victim preferences