1652 – Child pornographers: clinical features of a virtual assault

Introduction The child pornography collecting process and the way the pornographer considers his collection need to be better understood. It is these psychopathological issues and the risk of the person acting out his fantasies that need to be analyzed. Objectives We want to understand the phenomenon of child pornography, because it is sometimes a matter of deviance without leading to actual abuse. Aims The aim of our study is thus to identify the characteristics of people who download child pornography. Methods We collected datas from forensic psychiatric assessments. The criterion for inclusion was the possession of pornographic images of minors. We studied pathological characteristics of this sample. Results Subjects were almost exclusively male with an average age of forty years. They have generally a good academic level. A significant difference is observed between the childhood aspects of child pornographers, sex online and offline offenders. A sense of loneliness is expressed in 32.8%. Conclusion Child generally fulfills a fantasy of a pedophile nature. Different profiles of child pornographers have been proposed which are not always related to pedophilia. Our study has permitted to have informations about the sexuality of child pornographers. The feel to not be well integrated could explain the use of virtual mean of telecommunication. Clinical differences can be made between child pornographers and sex online offenders.