The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction

Additional Academic SourcesFagan, P., Wise, T., Schmidt, C. and Berlin, F. (2002), “Pedophilia,” Journal of theAmerican Medical Association, 288(19), 2458-2465.Child Pornography Desensitizes ViewersHernandez, Andres, “Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics of Child PornographyOffenders in Treatment,” presented at the University of North Carolina Symposium.http://www.iprc.unc.edu/G8/Hernandez_position_paper_Global_Symposium.pdfChild Pornography and Contact OffensesA study completed in 2000 by the Director of the Sex Offender Treatment Program at the ButnerFederal Correctional Complex in North Carolina revealed that of 54 inmates convicted of childpornography offenses, 79.6% of them admitted that they had also molested significant numbersof children.Dr. Andres Hernandez, director of the Bureau of Prisons Sex Offender Treatment Program,looked at a sample of 155 offenders in his program who had been convicted of possession,receipt, or distribution of child pornography. Of these 155 offenders, 26 percent had knowndocumented histories of contact sexual offenses against children upon entering treatment, with atotal number of 75 victims. By the end of treatment, however, 85 percent of the sample admittedthat they had committed at least one prior hands-on offense against a child, with a total numberof 1,777 victims. Fifty-two percent of the sample underwent a polygraph examination to validatethe accuracy of the self-reported instances of abuse.Dr. Hernandez concluded that a “substantial percentage of offenders in our study who initiallyclaimed to be at low (or no) risk of harm to children because they exclusively collected childabuse images and allegedly never molested a child, subsequently indicated that they hadcommitted undetected child sexual abuse.”Dr. Hernandez’ findings, by his own admission, may overstate the relationship between childpornography offenders and contact offenders, since the subjects of his study were a self-selectedgroup.Jensen, C.J., Bailey, P., and Jensen, S., “Selection, Engagement and Seduction of Childrenand Adults by Child Molesters,” The Prosecutor, 36, 41-47 (2002).Klain, E.J., Davies, H.J., and Hicks, M.A., Child Pornography: The Criminal-Justice-SystemResponse, NCMEC, Alexandria, Virginia, (March 2001).Lanning, K.V., “Pedophiles Use the Images to Silence Their Victims: Photograph theAbuse and Blackmail the Child Into Silence With the Shameful Images of Abuse,”NCMEC 1992.C-6