From legal pornography to sexual assault: sexual cyber-offender activity scripts

Scripts theory makes it possible to understand the particular sequence in which different types of crime may be committed. While researchers have traditionally been interested in crimes against property and individuals, this study analyzes a new form of crime, that committed on the Internet. Based on a review of the scientific literature, this article examines how viewing and creating child pornography can be understood dynamically and suggests that a motivated child pornography offender, in acquiring new knowledge and techniques, goes through many stages that ultimately lead to sexual abuse of children. It is important to note that only a small proportion of individuals who follow the steps described in the script will move on to the next step : the focus here is on the context and not on any causality between the steps, as the latter has not been demonstrated. We look at the offenders’ path from consumption of adult pornography, to consumption of child pornography, to engaging in the distribution of child pornography, to child luring, and, finally, to engaging in child sexual abuse and production of child pornography. The limits and implications of the study are discussed.