Characteristics of French Users of Child Pornography: Description of a Cohort Subjected to Forensic Evaluation

Child pornography is a form of sexual exploitation of children. The virtual aspect of this offence appears to be encouraged by the internet. It is important to know the profiles of the people downloading these images. The aim of our study was to identify the characteristics of people who are drawn to child pornography. Our study was based on psychiatric assessments carried out at the request of the law courts. The feeling of loneliness and poor social integration are evoked by a lot of users of child pornography. Generally, they have no criminal record.