The Profile of a Child Sexual Offender: Understanding those who sexually offend against children to inform early interventions.

1 in 20 children in the U.K. have been sexually abused (NSPCC, 2021). Sexual offences have significant psychological, physical, and financial consequences (Radakin et al., 2021), with professionals emphasising that sexual offending is both a social and public health problem (De Bellis et al., 2011). A 'child sexual offender' (CSO)

refers to a convicted adult (18+ years) who has committed sexual offences against children (under 16-years). Paedophilia is a diagnosis assigned to adults (16+ years) who have sexual desires towards children (American

Psychiatric Association, 2013). Currently, preventative efforts are directed towards treating those who have already committed sexual offences. However, there is little evidence to support the effectiveness of these treatment programmes (Ministry of Justice, 2007). Ward and Hudson (2000) found that the 'seemingly unimportant decisions' (SUDs) of CSOs can lead to

high-risk, maladaptive behaviours (e.g., finding housing close to a playground). The proposed research will further explore these SUDs to understand the offence chain, leading to the development of more targeted interventions,

both before and after sexual crimes are committed. Sexual deviance (sexual behaviours and/or fantasies deemed unacceptable in society) and cognitive distortions (maladaptive thinking, distorted beliefs) are precursors to sexual offending (Lim et al., 2021). Although sexual

fantasies are implicit in the aetiology of child sexual abuse (Ward & Siegert, 2002) and sexual deviance is a strong predictor of sexual recidivism (Doren, 2004), research assessing deviance in sexual offenders is limited. Research has examined sexual fantasies amongst the general public (Zurbriggen & Yost, 2004), or with youth offenders

(Daleiden et al., 1998), but not as a contributor of child sexual offending. It is recognised that CSOs endorse cognitive distortions (e.g., 'sexual abuse is not harmful' [Ó Ciardha & Ward, 2013]). Elliott et al. (2012) found that contact CSO's experienced a higher frequency of cognitive distortions than

internet CSO's; however, cross-over CSOs (internet and contact CSOs) experienced the most cognitive distortions. Cognitive distortion theory suggests that CSOs fail to recognise that children are unable to give sexual consent (Sexual Offences Act, 2003), though there is a lack of research investigating how sexual consent is conceptualised

amongst CSOs. The proposed research will not examine all causes of child sexual offending. Instead, it will explore key areas where CSOs may differ to general populations and non-offending paedophiles. The research will apply a mixed methodology (quantitative and qualitative) to address a broader range of research questions, enabling us to create

a CSO profile for use in theory and practice. Both offending and non-offending paedophiles will be studied and compared with wider population samples (which have not previously been used as comparison groups within sexual offending studies). Whilst the research is exploratory, it is expected that there will be differences between

offending and non-offending paedophiles, and the general public in terms of sexual deviance, understanding of 16 / 25 sexual consent, and the endorsement of cognitive distortions. Characterisation of offending and non-offending paedophiles will help inform the development of early intervention initiatives and improved treatment programmes.