U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

www.cops.usdoj.gov

C h i l d P o r n o g r a p h y 

o n t h e I n t e r n e t

by 

Richard Wortley

Stephen Smallbone

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 

Problem-Specific Guides Series

No. 41
www.PopCenter.org

Got a Problem? We’ve got answers!

Log onto the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing website 

at www.popcenter.org for a wealth of information to help 

you deal more effectively with crime and disorder in your 

community, including:

• Web-enhanced versions of all currently available Guides

• Interactive training exercises

• Online access to research and police practices

• Online problem analysis module.

Designed for police and those who work with them to 

address community problems, www.popcenter.org is a great 

resource in problem-oriented policing.

Supported by the Office of Community Oriented Policing 

Services, U.S. Department of Justice.

Center for Problem-Oriented Policing
Child Pornography on 

the Internet

Richard Wortley

Stephen Smallbone

This project was supported by cooperative agreement 

#2004CKWXK002 by the Office of Community Oriented Policing 

Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions contained herein 

are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the 

official position of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to 

specific companies, products, or services should not be considered an 

endorsement of the product by the author or the U.S. Department 

of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement 

discussion of the issues.

www.cops.usdoj.gov

ISBN: 1-932582-65-7

May 2006

Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 

Problem-Specific Guides Series

Guide No. 41

About the Problem-Specific Guides Series i

About the Problem-Specific Guides Series

The Problem-Specific Guides summarize knowledge about 

how police can reduce the harm caused by specific crime 

and disorder problems. They are guides to prevention 

and to improving the overall response to incidents, not 

to investigating offenses or handling specific incidents. 

The guides are written for police—of whatever rank or 

assignment—who must address the specific problem the 

guides cover. The guides will be most useful to officers 

who:

• Understand basic problem-oriented policing principles 

and methods. The guides are not primers in problemoriented policing. They deal only briefly with the initial 

decision to focus on a particular problem, methods to 

analyze the problem, and means to assess the results of 

a problem-oriented policing project. They are designed 

to help police decide how best to analyze and address a 

problem they have already identified. (A companion series 

of Problem-Solving Tools guides has been produced to aid in 

various aspects of problem analysis and assessment.)

• Can look at a problem in depth. Depending on the 

complexity of the problem, you should be prepared to 

spend perhaps weeks, or even months, analyzing and 

responding to it. Carefully studying a problem before 

responding helps you design the right strategy, one that is 

most likely to work in your community. You should not 

blindly adopt the responses others have used; you must 

decide whether they are appropriate to your local situation. 

What is true in one place may not be true elsewhere; what 

works in one place may not work everywhere.
• Are willing to consider new ways of doing police 

business. The guides describe responses that other police 

departments have used or that researchers have tested. 

While not all of these responses will be appropriate to 

your particular problem, they should help give a broader 

view of the kinds of things you could do. You may think 

you cannot implement some of these responses in your 

jurisdiction, but perhaps you can. In many places, when 

police have discovered a more effective response, they 

have succeeded in having laws and policies changed, 

improving the response to the problem.

• Understand the value and the limits of research 

knowledge. For some types of problems, a lot of useful 

research is available to the police; for other problems, 

little is available. Accordingly, some guides in this series 

summarize existing research whereas other guides 

illustrate the need for more research on that particular 

problem. Regardless, research has not provided definitive 

answers to all the questions you might have about the 

problem. The research may help get you started in 

designing your own responses, but it cannot tell you 

exactly what to do. This will depend greatly on the 

particular nature of your local problem. In the interest 

of keeping the guides readable, not every piece of 

relevant research has been cited, nor has every point been 

attributed to its sources. To have done so would have 

overwhelmed and distracted the reader. The references 

listed at the end of each guide are those drawn on most 

heavily; they are not a complete bibliography of research 

on the subject. 

• Are willing to work with others to find effective 

solutions to the problem. The police alone cannot 

implement many of the responses discussed in the guides. 

ii Child Pornography on the Internet
About the Problem-Specific Guides Series iii

They must frequently implement them in partnership with 

other responsible private and public entities including other 

government agencies, non-governmental organizations, 

private businesses, public utilities, community groups, 

and individual citizens. An effective problem-solver must 

know how to forge genuine partnerships with others and 

be prepared to invest considerable effort in making these 

partnerships work. Each guide identifies particular entities 

in the community with whom police might work to improve 

the overall response to that problem. Thorough analysis of 

problems often reveals that entities other than the police are 

in a stronger position to address problems and that police 

ought to shift some greater responsibility to them to do so.

The COPS Office defines community policing as “a policing 

philosophy that promotes and supports organizational 

strategies to address the causes and reduce the fear of crime 

and social disorder through problem-solving tactics and 

police-community partnerships.” These guides emphasize 

problem-solving and police-community partnerships in the context 

of addressing specific public safety problems. For the 

most part, the organizational strategies that can facilitate 

problem-solving and police-community partnerships vary 

considerably and discussion of them is beyond the scope of 

these guides.

These guides have drawn on research findings and police 

practices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, 

Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. 

Even though laws, customs and police practices vary from 

country to country, it is apparent that the police everywhere 

experience common problems. In a world that is becoming 

increasingly interconnected, it is important that police be 

aware of research and successful practices beyond the 

borders of their own countries.
The COPS Office and the authors encourage you to provide 

feedback on this guide and to report on your own agency’s 

experiences dealing with a similar problem. Your agency 

may have effectively addressed a problem using responses 

not considered in these guides and your experiences and 

knowledge could benefit others. This information will be 

used to update the guides. If you wish to provide feedback 

and share your experiences it should be sent via e-mail to 

cops_pubs@usdoj.gov.

For more information about problem-oriented policing, visit 

the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing online at www.

popcenter.org. This website offers free online access to:

• the Problem-Specific Guides series

• the companion Response Guides and Problem-Solving 

Tools series

• instructional information about problem-oriented policing 

and related topics

• an interactive training exercise

• online access to important police research and practices. 

iv Child Pornography on the Internet
Acknowledgments v

Acknowledgments

The Problem-Oriented Guides for Police are very much a 

collaborative effort. While each guide has a primary 

author, other project team members, COPS Office staff 

and anonymous peer reviewers contributed to each guide 

by proposing text, recommending research and offering 

suggestions on matters of format and style. 

The principal project team developing the guide series 

comprised Herman Goldstein, professor emeritus, 

University of Wisconsin Law School; Ronald V. Clarke, 

professor of criminal justice, Rutgers University; John 

E. Eck, professor of criminal justice, University of 

Cincinnati; Michael S. Scott, clinical assistant professor, 

University of Wisconsin Law School; Rana Sampson, 

police consultant, San Diego; and Deborah Lamm 

Weisel, director of police research, North Carolina State 

University.

Cynthia Pappas oversaw the project for the COPS Office. 

Katharine Willis edited the guide. Research for the guides 

was conducted at the Criminal Justice Library at Rutgers 

University under the direction of Phyllis Schultze. 

The project team also wishes to acknowledge the members 

of the San Diego, National City and Savannah police 

departments who provided feedback on the guides' format 

and style in the early stages of the project, as well as the 

line police officers, police executives and researchers who 

peer reviewed each guide.

contents

About the Problem-Specific Guides Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

The Problem of Internet Child Pornography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Related Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Child Abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Internet Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Defining Child Pornography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Legal Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Non-legal Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

The Role of the Internet in Promoting Child Pornography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Components of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Downloading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Extent of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Profile of Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

A Psychological Typology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

An Offending Typology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Effects of Child Pornography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Effects on the Children Portrayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Effects on Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

The Internet and Other Forms of Child Sexual Abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Sources of Digital Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Challenges in Controlling Internet Child Pornography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Understanding Your Local Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Asking the Right Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Offenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Offenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Contents vii
Computer Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Community Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Resources and Collaborations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Measuring Your Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Responses to the Problem of Internet Child Pornography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

General Considerations for an Effective Response Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Specific Responses to Reduce Internet Child Pornography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Computer Industry Self Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Legislative Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Strategies for Related Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Workplace Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Citizens' Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Parental Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Law Enforcement Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Responses With Limited Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Appendix A: Key Tems and Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Appendix B: Agencies and Programs Addressing Internet Child Pornography . . . . . 51

Appendix C: Examples of Coordinated Law Enforcement Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Appendix D: Summary of Responses to Internet Child Pornography . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Recommended Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

viii Child Pornography on the Internet
The Problem of Internet Child 

Pornography

The guide begins by describing the problem and 

reviewing factors that increase the risks of Internet child 

pornography. It then identifies a series of questions that 

might assist you in analyzing your local Internet child 

pornography problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the 

problem and what is known about these from evaluative 

research and police practice. 

The treatment of children as sexual objects has existed 

through the ages, and so too has the production of erotic 

literature and drawings involving children. However, 

pornography in the modern sense began with the 

invention of the camera in the early nineteenth century. 

Almost immediately, sexualized images involving children 

were produced, traded, and collected.1 Even so, child 

pornography remained a restricted activity through most 

of the twentieth century. Images were usually locally 

produced, of poor quality, expensive, and difficult to 

obtain. The relaxation of censorship standards in the 

1960s led to an increase in the availability of child 

pornography, and, by 1977, some 250 child pornography 

magazines were circulating in the United States, many 

imported from Europe.2 Despite concern about the 

extent of child pornography, law enforcement agencies 

had considerable success in stemming the trafficking of 

these traditional hard-copy forms. However, the advent of 

the Internet in the 1980s dramatically changed the scale 

and nature of the child pornography problem, and has 

required new approaches to investigation and control.

The Problem of Internet Child Pornography 1
Internet child pornography is unlike most crimes local 

police departments handle. Local citizens may access child 

pornography images that were produced and/or stored in 

another city or on another continent. Alternatively, they 

may produce or distribute images that are downloaded 

by people thousands of miles away. An investigation that 

begins in one police district will almost certainly cross 

jurisdictional boundaries. Therefore, most of the major 

investigations of Internet child pornography have involved 

cooperation among jurisdictions, often at an international 

level. 

However, within this broader scheme, local police 

departments have a crucial role to play. By concentrating 

on components of the problem that occur within their 

local jurisdictions, they may uncover evidence that initiates 

a wider investigation. Alternatively, they may receive 

information from other jurisdictions about offenders in 

their districts. Because of the increasing use of computers 

in society, most police departments are likely to encounter 

Internet child pornography crimes. Therefore, it is 

important that all police departments develop strategies 

for dealing with the problem. Larger departments or 

districts may have their own dedicated Internet child 

pornography teams, but most smaller ones do not, and 

the responsibility for day-to-day investigations will fall 

to general-duties officers.3 It would be a mistake to 

underestimate the importance of local police in detecting 

and preventing Internet child pornography offenses. One 

study found that 56 percent of arrests for Internet child 

pornography crimes originated from non-specialized law 

enforcement agencies.4

2 Child Pornography on the Internet
Related Problems

Internet child pornography is only one of a number of 

problems related to either child abuse or the Internet. 

Other related problems not directly addressed by this 

guide include:

Child Abuse

violence and fatalities

neglect

abandonment

exposure to hazardous materials (e.g., clandestine drug 

labs)

trafficking of children and babies and illegal adoption 

agencies

juvenile runaways.

Internet Crime

online solicitation of children for sexual activity

identity theft (sometimes known as phishing)§

hacking.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

§ See the POP Guide on Identity 

Theft.

The Problem of Internet Child Pornography 3
Defining Child Pornography

Legal Definitions

The idea of protecting children from sexual exploitation 

is relatively modern. As late as the 1880s in the United 

States, the age of consent for girls was just 10 years.5 

In 1977, only two states had legislation specifically 

outlawing the use of children in obscene material. 

The first federal law concerning child pornography 

was passed in 1978, and the first laws that specifically 

referred to computers and child pornography were 

passed in 1988. Since that time, there has been a steady 

tightening of child pornography laws6 (see Table 1).

4 Child Pornography on the Internet
The Problem of Internet Child Pornography 5

Date Legislation/Ruling7 Comment

1978

1982

1984

1986

Sexual Exploitation of 

Children Act 

New York v. Ferber

Child Protection Act

United States v. Dost

First federal law specifically dealing with child 

pornography. Prohibited the manufacture and 

commercial distribution of obscene material 

involving minors under 16.

Child pornography not protected by the First 

Amendment. Child pornography separated 

from obscenity laws, to be judged on a 

different standard. 

Age of minor covered by child pornography 

legislation was raised to 18, and distinction 

between child pornography and obscenity 

codified. 

Expanded the definition of child pornography 

to include sexually suggestive depictions of a 

lascivious nature. 

1988

1990

1996

Child Protection and 

Obscenity Enforcement 

Act

Osborne v. Ohio

Child Pornography 

Protection Act

Illegal to use a computer to depict or advertise 

child pornography. 

Private possession of child pornography ruled 

to be illegal. 

Definition of child pornography expanded to 

include virtual images of children and images 

that appear to be of a minor. 

1998

Child Protector and 

Sexual Predator 

Punishment Act

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) required to 

report known incidents of child pornography 

to authorities, but not required to actively 

monitor customers or sites. 

2002 Ashcroft v. Free Speech 

Coalition 

Virtual images ruled not to be pornography; 

‘appear to be a minor’ ruled to be too broad. 

Table 1: Development of child pornography law in the United States
To summarize the current federal legal situation in the 

United States: 

A child is defined as any person under the age of 

18. Legislation has attempted to broaden the law to 

include computer-generated images (virtual images 

that do not involve real children) and people over 

18 who appear to be minors. However, the court 

overturned both of these provisions. Congress has 

subsequently made a number of amendments to 

tighten federal law in these areas. Because of the 

evolving nature of legal provision with respect to 

Internet child pornography, the reader is advised to 

obtain up-to-date legal advice on the current situation. 

A different and more stringent standard is applied to 

images involving children than to images involving 

adults. Pornography involving a child does not have 

to involve obscene behavior, but may include sexually 

explicit conduct that is lascivious or suggestive. For 

example, in United States v. Knox (1993)8 a man was 

convicted for possessing videos in which the camera 

focused on the clothed genital region of young girls.9 

Possession of (not just production and trading of) 

child pornography is an offense. In the case of the 

Internet, images do not have to be saved for an 

offense to have occurred—they simply need to have 

been accessed.

Most states have followed the federal lead with specific 

legislation, allowing state police to join federal agencies 

in the fight against child pornography.10 However, the 

exact nature of the legislation varies considerably among 

states. There is also a wide variation in international laws 

covering child pornography, and this can have significant 

implications for law enforcement. 

•

•

•

6 Child Pornography on the Internet
Non-legal Definitions

Because legal definitions of both child and pornography 

differ considerably among jurisdictions, for research 

purposes child pornography is often defined broadly as any 

record of sexual activity involving a prepubescent person. 

Pornographic records include still photographs, videos, and 

audio recordings. The images themselves vary considerably 

in their graphic content. In some cases individuals may 

collect images that do not involve overt pornography and 

are not technically illegal. There are 10 levels of image 

severity:11

1. Indicative: non-sexualized pictures collected from 

legitimate sources (e.g., magazines, catalogs).

2. Nudist: naked or semi-naked pictures of children in 

appropriate settings collected from legitimate sources.

3. Erotica: pictures taken secretly of children in which 

they reveal varying degrees of nakedness.

4. Posing: posed pictures of children in varying degrees 

of nakedness.

5. Erotic posing: pictures of children in sexualized poses 

and in varying degrees of nakedness.

6. Explicit erotic posing: pictures emphasizing the 

genitals.

7. Explicit sexual activity: record of sexual activity 

involving children but not involving adults.

8. Assault: record of children subjected to sexual abuse 

involving digital touching with adults. 

9. Gross assault: record of children subjected to sexual 

abuse involving penetrative sex, masturbation, or oral 

sex with adults. 

10. Sadistic/bestiality: record of children subjected to 

pain, or engaging in sexual activity with an animal. 

The Problem of Internet Child Pornography 7
The Role of the Internet in Promoting Child 

Pornography

The Internet has escalated the problem of child 

pornography by increasing the amount of material 

available, the efficiency of its distribution, and the ease of 

its accessibility. (See Appendix A for a summary of key 

terms and concepts relating to the Internet.) Specifically, 

the Internet: 

permits access to vast quantities of pornographic 

images from around the world

makes pornography instantly available at any time or 

place

allows pornography to be accessed (apparently) 

anonymously and privately

facilitates direct communication and image sharing 

among users

delivers pornography relatively inexpensively

provides images that are of high digital quality, do not 

deteriorate, and can be conveniently stored

provides for a variety of formats (pictures, videos, 

sound), as well as the potential for real-time and 

interactive experiences

permits access to digital images that have been 

modified to create composite or virtual images 

(morphing).

Components of the Problem

The problem of Internet child pornography can be 

divided into three components—the production, 

distribution, and downloading of images. In some cases, 

the same people are involved in each stage. However, 

some producers and/or distributors of child pornography 

are motivated solely by financial gain and are not 

themselves sexually attracted to children.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

8 Child Pornography on the Internet
Production

This involves the creation of pornographic images. 

Collectors place a premium on new child pornography 

material. However, many images circulating on the 

Internet may be decades old, taken from earlier magazines 

and films. Images may be produced professionally, and, 

in these cases, often document the abuse of children 

in third-world countries. However, more commonly, 

amateurs make records of their own sexual abuse exploits, 

particularly now that electronic recording devices such as 

digital cameras and web cams permit individuals to create 

high quality, homemade images.12 With the advent of 

multimedia messaging (MMR) mobile phones, clandestine 

photography of children in public areas is becoming an 

increasing problem. 

Distribution

This involves the uploading and dissemination of 

pornographic images. These images may be stored on 

servers located almost anywhere in the world. Distribution 

may involve sophisticated pedophile rings or organized 

crime groups that operate for profit, but in many cases, 

is carried out by individual amateurs who seek no 

financial reward. Child pornography may be uploaded 

to the Internet on websites or exchanged via e-mail, 

instant messages, newsgroups, bulletin boards, chat 

rooms, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. Efforts by law 

enforcement agencies and Internet Service Providers 

(ISPs) to stop the dissemination of child pornography on 

the Internet have led to changes in offenders’ methods. 

Child pornography websites are often shut down as 

soon as they are discovered, and openly trading in 

pornography via e-mail or chat rooms is risky because 

The Problem of Internet Child Pornography 9
of the possibility of becoming ensnared in a police sting 

operation (e.g., undercover police entering chat rooms 

posing as pedophiles or as minor children). Increasingly 

those distributing child pornography are employing more 

sophisticated security measures to elude detection and are 

being driven to hidden levels of the Internet (see Table 2). 

10 Child Pornography on the Internet

Use

E-mail E-mail attachments are sometimes used by professional distributors 

of child pornography, but more frequently they are used to share 

images among users, or they are sent to a potential victim as part of 

the grooming/seduction process. This method is considered risky by 

seasoned users because of the danger in unwittingly sending e-mails 

to undercover police posing as pedophiles or as potential victims. 

Web cam Images of abuse may be broadcast in real time. In one documented 

case of a live broadcast, viewers could make online requests for 

particular sexual activities to be carried out on the victim.16

Method

Web pages and 

websites

Specific child pornography websites may be created, or child 

pornography images may be embedded in general pornography 

sites. However, there is debate about how much child pornography 

is available on the web. Some argue that it is relatively easy to find 

images.14 Others argue that, because of the vigilance of ISPs and 

police in tracking down and closing child pornography websites, it is 

unlikely that a normal web search using key words such as childporn 

would reveal much genuine child pornography.15 Instead, the searcher 

is likely to find legal pornographic sites with adults purporting to 

be minors, ‘sting’ operations, or vigilante sites. One strategy of 

distributors is to post temporary sites that are then advertised on 

pedophile bulletin boards. To prolong their existence these sites 

may be given innocuous names (e.g., volleyball) or other codes 

(e.g., ch*ldp*rn) to pass screening software. The websites may be 

immediately flooded with hits before they are closed down. Often the 

websites contain Zip archives, the password for which is then later 

posted on a bulletin board. 

Table 2: Distribution methods of child pornography on the Internet.13
The Problem of Internet Child Pornography 11

E-groups

Newsgroups

Specific child pornography e-groups exist to permit members to receive 

and share pornographic images and exchange information about 

new sites. Some of these groups appear on reputable servers and are 

swiftly shut down when they are detected. However, they may use code 

names or camouflage child pornography images among legal adult 

pornography to prolong their existence. 

Specific child pornography newsgroups provide members with a forum 

in which to discuss their sexual interests in children and to post child 

pornography. This is one of the major methods of distributing child 

pornography. Some child pornography newsgroups are well known 

to both users and authorities (for example, the abpep-t or alternative 

binaries pictures erotica pre-teen group). Most commercial servers 

block access to such sites. Some servers do provide access to them 

but a user runs the risk of having his/her identity captured either by 

the credit card payments required for access, or the record kept by the 

server of his/her IP address. However, a computer-savvy user can 

access these groups by using techniques that hide his/her identity by 

concealing his/her true IP address. 

Bulletin Board 

Systems (BBS)

Chat rooms Chat rooms may be used to exchange child pornography and locate 

potential victims. Chat rooms may be password-protected. Open chat 

rooms are avoided by seasoned child pornographers because they are 

often infiltrated by undercover police. 

Peer-to-peer 

(P2P)

P2P networks facilitate file sharing among child pornography users. 

These networks permit closed groups to trade images. 

Bulletin boards may be used legally to host discussions that provide 

advice to seekers of child pornography, including the URLs of child 

pornography websites and ratings of those sites. These bulletin boards 

may be monitored by system administrators to exclude bogus or 

irrelevant postings, such as from vigilantes. 
12 Child Pornography on the Internet

Downloading

This involves accessing child pornography via the Internet. 

The images do not need to be saved to the computer’s hard 

drive or to a removable disk to constitute downloading. In 

some cases a person may receive spam advertising child 

pornography, a pop-up link may appear in unrelated websites, 

or he may inadvertently go to a child pornography website 

(e.g., by mistyping a key word). In most cases, however, users 

must actively seek out pornographic websites or subscribe to 

a group dedicated to child pornography. In fact, it has been 

argued that genuine child pornography is relatively rare in 

open areas of the Internet, and, increasingly, those seeking to 

find images need good computer skills and inside knowledge 

of where to look.17 Most child pornography is downloaded 

via newsgroups and chat rooms. Access to websites and online 

pedophile groups may be closed and require paying a fee or 

using a password. 

Extent of the Problem 

It is difficult to be precise about the extent of Internet child 

pornography, but all of the available evidence points to it 

being a major and growing problem. At any one time there are 

estimated to be more than one million pornographic images 

of children on the Internet, with 200 new images posted 

daily.18 One offender arrested in the U.K. possessed 450,000 

child pornography images.19 It has been reported that a single 

child pornography site received a million hits in a month.20 As 

noted above, one problem in estimating the number of sites 

is that many exist only for a brief period before they are shut 

down, and much of the trade in child pornography takes place 
The Problem of Internet Child Pornography 13

at hidden levels of the Internet. It has been estimated that 

there are between 50,000 and 100,000 pedophiles involved in 

organized pornography rings around the world, and that onethird of these operate from the United States.21 

Profile of Users

There is no one type of Internet child pornography user, 

and there is no easy way to recognize an offender. Having a 

preconceived idea of a child sex offender can be unhelpful and 

prove a distraction for investigating police.22 Users of Internet 

child pornography: 

are not necessarily involved in hands-on sexual abuse 

of children. It is not known exactly how many people 

may access child pornography on the Internet without 

ever physically abusing a child. Before the Internet, 

between one-fifth and one-third of people arrested for 

possession of child pornography were also involved in 

actual abuse.23 However, the Internet makes it easy for 

people who may never have actively sought out traditional 

forms of child pornography to satisfy their curiosity 

online and this may encourage casual users. Looking at 

the relationship from the other direction, those convicted 

of sexually abusing children will not necessarily seek out 

or collect child pornography, with one study putting the 

number of offenders who do so at around 10 percent.24

The term child molester covers a wide variety of 

offenders, from serial predators to situational offenders 

who may not have ingrained sexual interest in children. 

•
may come from all walks of life and show few 

warning signs. In fact, users of child pornography on 

the Internet are more than likely to be in a relationship, 

to be employed, to have an above average IQ, to be 

college educated, and to not have a criminal record.25 

Those arrested for online child pornography crimes 

have included judges, dentists, teachers, academics, rock 

stars, soldiers, and police officers.26 Among the few 

distinguishing features of offenders are that they are likely 

to be white, male, and between the ages of 26 and 40, and 

may be heavy Internet users to the extent that it interferes 

with other aspects of their lives.27 

A Psychological Typology

Sexual attraction to children is known as pedophilia.28 

However, an interest in Internet child pornography may be 

best thought of as falling along a continuum rather than in 

terms of a hard and fast distinction between pedophiles and 

non-pedophiles. People can behave very differently on the 

Internet than they do in other areas of their lives. Interacting 

anonymously with a computer in the safety of one’s own 

home encourages people to express hidden thoughts and 

desires.29 Offenders vary in the strength of their interest 

in child pornography, as well as in the level of severity of 

the pornographic image to which they are attracted. From 

a psychological perspective, based on a typology of general 

pornography users,30 the following categories of Internet child 

pornography users are suggested: 

1. Recreational users: They access child pornography 

sites on impulse, out of curiosity, or for short-term 

entertainment. They are not seen to have long-term 

problems associated with child pornography use. 

•

14 Child Pornography on the Internet
2. At-risk users: They are vulnerable individuals who have 

developed an interest in child pornography, but may not 

have done so had it not been for the Internet. 

3. Sexual compulsives: They have a specific interest in 

children as sexual objects and seek out child pornography. 

An Offending Typology

Variations among offenders translate into different patterns 

of Internet behavior. Offenders vary in the level of their 

involvement in Internet child pornography, the degree of 

networking in which they engage with other offenders, their 

expertise in employing security strategies to avoid detection, 

and the extent to which their Internet behavior involves direct 

sexual abuse of children. The following typology of child 

pornography offending has been suggested:31

1. Browsers: Offenders who stumble across child 

pornography but knowingly save the images. They are 

not involved in networking with other offenders and do 

not employ security strategies to avoid detection. Their 

browsing is an indirect abuse of children. 

2. Private fantasizers: Offenders who create digital images 

(e.g., through morphing) for private use to satisfy personal 

sexual desires. These offenders do not network with other 

offenders, do not employ security strategies, and their 

private fantasies are an indirect abuse of victims.

3. Trawlers: Offenders who seek child pornography on the 

web through open browsers. They may engage in minimal 

networking, but they employ few security strategies and 

their trawling is an indirect abuse of victims. 

4. Non-secure collectors: Offenders who seek child 

pornography in non-secure chat rooms (i.e., chat rooms 

that do not employ security barriers such as passwords) 

and other open levels of the Internet. They are involved 

The Problem of Internet Child Pornography 15
16 Child Pornography on the Internet

in relatively high levels of networking, and, by definition, 

do not employ security strategies. Their collecting 

behavior is an indirect abuse of children. Because of the 

non-secured nature of their activities, there are limits to 

the number and nature of the images they can collect. 

5. Secure collectors: Offenders who are members of 

a closed newsgroup or other secret pedophile ring. 

They engage in high levels of networking and employ 

sophisticated security measures to protect their activities 

from detection. Their collecting behavior is an indirect 

abuse of children. Because they occupy hidden levels of 

the Internet, they have access to a wide range of images. 

They may engage in obsessive levels of collecting, which 

not only involves amassing huge numbers of images, 

but also carefully cataloging and cross referencing them. 

As with other types of collections, they may expend 

considerable effort in obtaining rare and highly prized 

images. The collection may become an end in itself.

6. Groomers: Offenders who develop online relationships 

with children and send pornography to children as part 

of the grooming process. Grooming involves direct abuse 

of children. They may or may not be involved in wider 

networking with other offenders, but their contact with 

children exposes them to risk of detection. The child may 

tell someone about the relationship, or the offender may 

be unwittingly communicating with an undercover police 

officer. 

7. Physical abusers: Offenders who sexually abuse children 

and for whom an interest in child pornography is just 

part of their pedophilic interests. They may record their 

own abuse behaviors for their personal use, in which case, 

from a legal standpoint, the possession of pornography is 

secondary to the evidence of their abusive behavior that 

it records. They may or may not network. By definition, 

a physical abuser directly abuses victims and his security 

depends upon the child’s silence. 
8. Producers: Offenders who record the sexual abuse of 

children for the purpose of disseminating it to others. The 

extent of their networking varies depending on whether 

they are also distributors. Again the producer’s direct 

abuse of the victim compromises his security. 

9. Distributors: Offenders involved in disseminating 

abuse images. In some cases they have a purely financial 

interest in child pornography. More often, offenders 

at any of the above levels who share images may be 

classified as distributors. Thus, the extent of a distributor’s 

networking, his level of security, and whether he engages 

in direct abuse of children depends upon the level at 

which he is operating. 

Effects of Child Pornography

Effects on the Children Portrayed

The vast majority of children who appear in child 

pornography have not been abducted or physically forced 

to participate.32 In most cases they know the producer—it 

may even be their father—and are manipulated into taking 

part by more subtle means. Nevertheless, to be the subject of 

child pornography can have devastating physical, social, and 

psychological effects on children.33

The children portrayed in child pornography are first 

victimized when their abuse is perpetrated and recorded. 

They are further victimized each time that record is accessed. 

In one study,34 100 victims of child pornography were 

interviewed about the effects of their exploitation—at the 

time it occurred and in later years. Referring to when the abuse 

was taking place, victims described the physical pain (e.g., 

around the genitals), accompanying somatic symptoms (such 

as headaches, loss of appetite, and sleeplessness), and feelings 

The Problem of Internet Child Pornography 17
of psychological distress (emotional isolation, anxiety, and 

fear). However, most also felt a pressure to cooperate with the 

offender and not to disclose the offense, both out of loyalty to 

the offender and a sense of shame about their own behavior. 

Only five cases were ultimately reported to authorities. In 

later years, the victims reported that initial feelings of shame 

and anxiety did not fade but intensified to feelings of deep 

despair, worthlessness, and hopelessness. Their experience 

had provided them with a distorted model of sexuality, and 

many had particular difficulties in establishing and maintaining 

healthy emotional and sexual relationships. 

Effects on Users

The effects of pornography on users have been extensively 

researched but results are contentious. There are at least five 

possible relationships between pornography use and the sexual 

abuse of children: 

Pornography use is an expression of existing sexual 

interests. An individual who sexually abuses children 

seeks out child pornography as part of his/her pattern 

of sexual gratification.35 The offender’s sexual interests 

cause his/her pornography use rather than the other way 

around. 

Pornography is used to prime the individual 

to offend. An individual deliberately views child 

pornography immediately prior to offending. Pornography 

is used in the short term to sexually stimulate the offender 

in preparation for offending.36 

Pornography has a corrosive effect. An individual 

becomes increasingly interested in child pornography, is 

attracted to images of increasing severity, and becomes 

desensitized to the harm victims experience. Use of 

•

•

•

18 Child Pornography on the Internet
pornography in the long term may also increase the risk 

that the person will sexually abuse a child.37 

Pornography has a cathartic effect. Viewing child 

pornography is the sole outlet for an individual’s sexual 

attraction to children. Pornography use may substitute for, 

or even help the individual resist, engaging in hands-on 

offending.38 

Pornography is a by-product of pedophilia.

Pornography is created in the process of carrying out 

sexual abuse or is used to groom potential victims and 

prepare them for abuse.39 Pornography is incidental to the 

abuse suffered by the victim. 

In all likelihood, the effects of child pornography vary among 

users, and all of the above relationships may apply depending 

upon the individual in question. 

•

•

The Problem of Internet Child Pornography 19

The Internet and Other Forms of Child 

Sexual Abuse

In addition to child pornography, the Internet facilitates child 

sexual abuse in the following ways:

It allows networking among child abuse perpetrators.

The Internet facilitates a subculture of pedophiles, who 

may share information and tactics and support each 

other’s belief systems.40 

It may be used to seek out and groom victims.

Perpetrators may enter children’s or teens’ chat rooms 

under an assumed identity to access and establish 

relationships with potential victims.41 

It may be used in cyber-stalking. Children may be 

sexually harassed via the Internet.42

It may be used to promote child sexual tourism.

Information is made available to help individuals locate 

child-sex tourism operators or to make direct contact with 

child prostitutes.43 

It may be used in trafficking children. Mail-order 

children are available over the Internet.44 

•

•

•

•

•

The Internet and Other Forms of Child Sexual Abuse 21

Sources of Digital Evidence 

Computers and their associated services retain a considerable 

amount of evidence of their use. Determined, computer-savvy 

offenders may take precautions to cover their tracks, but many 

offenders will have neither the foresight nor the necessary 

expertise to do so, and will leave a trail of incriminating 

evidence.45 

The offender’s computer: Downloaded images saved 

to a computer’s hard drive are the most obvious evidence 

of pornography use. However, there are also more subtle 

records that technicians can locate when examining a 

suspect’s computer. For example, log files show who was 

logged into the computer and when; modem logs record 

when a computer was connected to the Internet; Web 

browser history entries show an offender’s online activity; 

and e-mail and chat logs reveal online communication 

with cohorts or potential victims. Note, however, that 

seizure of a suspect’s computer requires specialized 

expertise, and, if handled incorrectly, may result in the loss 

of critical evidence.46 

Hand-held devices: An increasing number of devices 

contain components of a computer (referred to as 

embedded computer systems) and can be used in child 

pornography. These devices include digital cameras, 

personal digital assistants (PDAs), and mobile phones. For 

example, digital cameras can be used to record abuse; the 

files can then be easily uploaded to the Internet. Similarly, 

in addition to voice conversations between perpetrators, 

mobile phones increasingly permit the recording, storing, 

and transmitting of digital images. These devices may have 

incriminating digital records stored on their memory cards. 

•

•

Sources of Digital Evidence 23
24 Child Pornography on the Internet

Servers: Different servers may provide information 

with which to track pornography use. ISP authentication 

servers record customer account details against IP 

addresses (authentication logs), which can then be used 

to identify users. FTP and web servers used to upload 

and download electronic files have logs that record 

users’ IP addresses, what files were accessed, and when. 

Similarly, e-mail servers retain logs of customer use. Local 

area network servers may be used to store collections 

of pornography for personal use. Individuals may use 

local servers connected to their work computers so that 

searching a suspect’s work server may reveal hidden 

collections of pornography. 

Online activity: Purpose-built or commercially available 

digger engine software allows law enforcement personnel 

to monitor online activity and identify the IP addresses 

of chat room contributors.47 Although online operations 

can yield conclusive digital evidence of an offender’s 

involvement in Internet child pornography activities, 

officers should be careful not to become overzealous and 

engage in entrapment.48 

•

•
Challenges in Controlling Internet 

Child Pornography 

Internet child pornography presents some unique challenges 

for law enforcement agencies. These challenges include:

The structure of the Internet: The structure of the 

Internet makes control of child pornography very 

difficult. The Internet is a decentralized system with 

no single controlling agency or storage facility. Because 

it is a network of networks, even if one pathway is 

blocked, many alternative pathways can be taken to 

reach the same destination. Similarly, if one website or 

newsgroup is closed down, there are many others that can 

instantaneously take its place. The decentralized nature 

of the Internet, and resultant difficulties in restricting the 

distribution of child pornography, is exemplified by P2P 

networks involving direct connections among computers 

without the need for a central server.49 It has been argued 

that the Internet is the ultimate democratic entity and is 

essentially ungovernable. 

The uncertainties of jurisdiction: The Internet 

is an international communication tool that crosses 

jurisdictional boundaries. Not only is cooperation among 

law enforcement agencies necessary to track offenders 

across jurisdictions, it is required to coordinate resources 

and avoid duplication of effort.50 Parallel operations run 

from different jurisdictions may unknowingly target the 

same organization or offender. Equally problematic is 

the issue of who is responsible for investigating child 

pornography on the Internet when there is no clue as 

to where the images originate. There is a potential for 

pornography crimes to go uninvestigated because they do 

not fall within a particular law enforcement jurisdiction. 

•

•

Challenges in Controlling Internet Child Pornography 25
The lack of regulation: The Internet, by its nature, is 

difficult to regulate, but many jurisdictions are reluctant to 

introduce laws that might help control Internet use. There 

are debates about the appropriate weight to give to the 

community’s protection on the one hand, and to freedom 

of speech and commercial interests on the other.51 There 

is also legal ambiguity about whether ISPs should be liable 

for the material they carry (as are television stations) or 

merely regarded as the conduits for that material (similar 

to the mail service).52 The end result is that ISPs’ legal 

obligations with respect to Internet child pornography are 

often unclear, and, for the most part, the emphasis has 

been on self-regulation.53 

The differences in legislation: To the extent that there 

have been attempts to regulate the Internet, control 

efforts are hampered by cross-jurisdictional differences 

in laws and levels of permissiveness regarding child 

pornography. For example, in the United States a child is 

defined as someone under 18; in Australia the age is 16.54 

Moreover, countries vary in their commitment to enforce 

laws and act against offenders, either for cultural reasons 

or because of corruption.55 

The expertise of offenders: As the typology of Internet 

offending behavior suggests, offenders vary in the degree 

to which they employ elaborate security measures to avoid 

detection.56 There is a core of veteran offenders, some of 

whom have been active in pedophile newsgroups for more 

than 20 years, who possess high levels of technological 

expertise. Pedophile bulletin boards often contain 

technical advice from old hands to newcomers. It has been 

argued that many Internet sting operations succeed only in 

catching inexperienced, low-level offenders. 

•

•

•

26 Child Pornography on the Internet
The sophistication and adaptation of Internet 

technology: The expertise of offenders is enhanced by 

the rapid advances in Internet technology. In addition 

to P2P networks, recent developments include remailers 

(servers that strip the sender’s identity from e-mail) and 

file encryption (a method of hiding or scrambling data).57 

A technological race has developed between Internet 

pornographers and law enforcement agencies.58 

The volume of Internet activity: The sheer amount of 

traffic in child pornography makes the task of tracking 

down every person who visits a child pornography site 

impossible.59 Many offenders realize that realistically 

their chances of being caught are quite remote. Similarly, 

while perhaps worthwhile activities, catching peripheral 

offenders or disrupting individual networks may have little 

overall impact on the scale of the problem. 

•

•

Challenges in Controlling Internet Child Pornography 27

Understanding Your Local Problem

The information provided above is only a generalized 

description of Internet child pornography. You must combine 

the basic facts with a more specific understanding of your 

local problem. Analyzing the local problem carefully will help 

you design a more effective response strategy. 

Asking the Right Questions

The following are some critical questions you should ask 

in analyzing your particular problem of Internet child 

pornography, even if the answers are not always readily 

available. Your answers to these and other questions will help 

you choose the most appropriate set of responses later on. 

Offenses

How many complaints relating to Internet child 

pornography have been investigated in your jurisdiction? 

What were the sources of the complaints?

What component or components of the problem are 

occurring locally—production, distribution and/or 

downloading?

Is the local problem part of a national or international 

Internet child pornography ring? 

What level of severity are the pornographic images?

Are the pornographic images of recent child sexual abuse, 

or are they old images?

If the pornographic images are recent, can you identify 

the locations in which they were made, and are they local?

•

•

•

•

•

•

Understanding Your Local Problem 29
Victims

Do victims of child sexual abuse report participating or 

being depicted in child pornography?

Do victims of child sexual abuse report being shown child 

pornography by the offender?

If the pornographic images are recent, can you identify 

the victims and are they local?

Have any local children been the subjects of child 

pornography? If so, what physical and emotional harms 

did they suffer?

If local children have been the subjects of child 

pornography, how were they recruited or coerced into this 

activity?

Offenders

Do suspects arrested on child sexual abuse charges 

possess collections of downloaded pornography?

Do suspects arrested on child sexual abuse charges keep 

photographic records of their abusive behaviors? 

Do suspects arrested for possessing child pornography 

also commit hands-on offenses against children?

How strong are offenders’ interests in Internet child 

pornography (e.g., are they recreational, at-risk, or sexual 

compulsive users)? 

What level of severity of pornographic images do the 

offenders prefer? 

How large are the offenders’ collections of child 

pornography? 

How much time do the offenders devote to Internet child 

pornography?

What level of computer expertise do the offenders have?

Do the offenders network with other offenders?

What offender-type are the offenders—browsers, private 

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

30 Child Pornography on the Internet
fantasies, trawlers, non-secure collectors, secure collectors, 

groomers, physical abusers, producers, or distributors? 

If the pornographic images are recent, can the 

perpetrators be identified, and are they local? 

Computer Personnel

What links does the police department have with 

local computer personnel (repairers, ISP managers, IT 

technicians, etc.)?

Do local ISPs monitor their customers’ child pornography 

use?

Do local businesses and organizations have formal policies 

governing their employees’ use of the computer at work?

Have local computer repairers or IT technicians reported 

evidence of child pornography on their customers’ 

computers?

Community Members

How concerned is the public about Internet child 

pornography? 

Has the police department received complaints from the 

public about child pornography websites?

Has the police department received complaints from the 

public about online sexual harassment of children?

Has the police department received complaints from the 

public about unauthorized photographs being taken of 

children in public areas?

Resources and Collaborations

Which component or components of the problem should 

be given priority by the police department—production, 

distribution, and/or downloading?

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Understanding Your Local Problem 31
Who within the police department has computer expertise 

that may be useful in assisting with investigations?

Who in the community may provide technical advice to 

the police department on Internet child pornography?

What training is relevant for officers investigating Internet 

child pornography? 

Should the police department establish a dedicated 

Internet child pornography unit?

Does the police department have links with other police 

departments and agencies that permit coordinated 

investigations of Internet child pornography? 

How do the activities of the police department 

synchronize with national and international priorities and 

initiatives? 

Measuring Your Effectiveness

Measurement allows you to determine to what degree your 

efforts have succeeded, and suggests how you might modify 

your responses if they are not producing the intended 

results. You should take measures of your problem before you 

implement responses, to determine how serious the problem 

is, and after you implement them, to determine whether they 

have been effective. (For more detailed guidance on measuring 

effectiveness, see the companion guide to this series, Assessing 

Responses to Problems: An Introductory Guide for Police ProblemSolvers.)

The following are potentially useful measures of the 

effectiveness of responses to Internet child pornography: 

Reduced number of complaints from the public about 

Internet child pornography. Initially, you might want to 

see an increase in complaints from the public if you have 

reason to believe the problem is underreported.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

32 Child Pornography on the Internet
Reduced number of child pornography sites and images 

on the Internet. 

Reduced number of new child pornography images on the 

Internet. 

Reduced level of severity of the child pornography images 

on the Internet.

Reduced number of images possessed by offenders who 

are arrested for downloading child pornography. 

Reduced level of severity of the images possessed 

by offenders who are arrested for downloading child 

pornography. 

Reduced level of involvement (possession, distribution, or 

production) of the offenders arrested for Internet child 

pornography crime. 

Other measures are important for tracking official actions 

taken to address the problem. Among them are:

The number of offenders arrested for Internet child 

pornography crimes. 

The number of victims portrayed in Internet child 

pornography who are identified and assisted. 

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Understanding Your Local Problem 33

Responses to the Problem of Internet 

Child Pornography

Your analysis of your local problem should give you a better 

understanding of the factors contributing to it. Once you 

have analyzed your local problem and established a baseline 

for measuring effectiveness, you should consider possible 

responses to address the problem. 

The following response strategies provide a foundation 

of ideas for addressing your particular problem. These 

strategies are drawn from a variety of research studies and 

police reports. Several of these strategies may apply to your 

community’s problem. It is critical that you tailor responses 

to local circumstances, and that you can justify each response 

based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy 

will involve implementing several different responses. Law 

enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing 

or solving the problem. Do not limit yourself to considering 

what police can do: carefully consider whether others in your 

community share responsibility for the problem and can help 

police respond to it. 

General Considerations for an Effective Response 

Strategy 

As noted, Internet child pornography presents some unique 

challenges for law enforcement agencies. However, despite the 

difficulties involved in controlling the problem, local police 

have an important role to play. To maximize their contribution, 

local police departments need to: 

Acquire technical knowledge and expertise in 

Internet pornography. If your department does not have 

a specialized Internet crime unit, then find out where you 

•

Responses to the Problem of Internet Child Pornography 35
can obtain assistance or training. Appendix B lists online 

resources that can provide information on national and 

international initiatives, tips and leads, technical assistance, 

and staff training. 

Establish links with other agencies and jurisdictions.

It is important that local police departments share 

information and coordinate their activities with other 

jurisdictions. Appendix B also lists agencies that have 

specific programs or sections designed to provide a 

coordinated response to Internet child pornography.

Establish links with ISPs. ISPs can be crucial partners 

for police. As has been noted, there is often a lack of 

specific legislation setting out ISPs’ obligations. This 

makes it especially important for police to establish good 

working relations with ISPs to elicit their cooperation in 

the fight against Internet child pornography. 

Prioritize their efforts. Because of the volume of 

Internet child pornography crime, police forces need 

to prioritize their efforts and concentrate on the most 

serious offenders, particularly those actually involved in 

abusing children and producing pornographic images.60 

For example, one strategy may be to cross reference lists 

of Internet child pornography users with sex offender 

registries to increase the chance of targeting hands-on 

offenders (see Appendix B). It has been noted that success 

in combating child pornography is too often judged in 

terms of the number of images recovered, rather than by 

the more significant criterion of whether the crimes the 

images portray have been prevented.61 

•

•

•

36 Child Pornography on the Internet
Specific Responses to Reduce Internet Child 

Pornography

It is generally acknowledged that it is impossible to totally 

eliminate child pornography from the Internet. However, it is 

possible to reduce the volume of child pornography on the 

Internet, to make it more difficult or risky to access, and to 

identify and arrest the more serious perpetrators. Since 1996, 

ISPs have removed some 20,000 pornographic images of 

children from the web.62 Around 1,000 people are arrested 

annually in the United States for Internet child pornography 

offenses.63 The following strategies have been used or 

suggested to reduce the problem of child pornography on the 

Internet. 

Computer Industry Self Regulation

ISPs have a central role to play in combating Internet child 

pornography. The more responsibility ISPs take in tackling the 

availability of child pornography images on the Internet, the 

more resources police can devote to addressing the production 

side of the problem. However, there are two competing 

commercial forces acting on ISPs with respect to self 

regulation. On the one hand, if an ISP restricts access to child 

pornography on its server, it may lose out financially to other 

ISPs who do not. Therefore, it will always be possible for 

offenders to find ISPs who will store or provide access to child 

pornography sites. On the other hand, ISPs also have their 

commercial reputation to protect, and it is often in their best 

interests to cooperate with law enforcement agencies. Most 

major ISPs have shown a commitment to tackling the problem 

of child pornography. By establishing working relationships 

with ISPs, and publicizing those ISPs who take self regulation 

seriously, police may be able to encourage greater levels of self 

regulation. Current self-regulatory strategies include:

Responses to the Problem of Internet Child Pornography 37
1. Removing illegal sites. A number of ISP associations 

have drafted formal codes of practice that explicitly bind 

members to not knowingly accept illegal content on their sites, 

and to removing such sites when they become aware of their 

existence. Service agreement contracts with clients will often 

set out expected standards that apply to site content. Large 

ISPs may have active cyber patrols that search for illegal sites.64

2. Establishing complaint sites/hotlines. Some ISP 

associations have set up Internet sites or hotlines that allow 

users to report illegal practices.65 These associations either deal 

directly with the complaint (e.g., by contacting the webmaster, 

the relevant ISP, or the police) or refer the complainant to the 

appropriate authorities. 

3. Filtering browsers/search engines. ISPs can apply filters 

to the browsers and search engines their customers use to 

locate websites. There are numerous filtering methods. For 

example, filters can effectively treat certain key words as if 

they do not exist, so that using these words in a search will be 

fruitless.66 Software that can identify pornographic images is 

also being developed.67

Legislative Regulation

Not everyone is satisfied with the current reliance on self 

regulation, and there have been calls for increased legislation 

to compel the computer industry to play a greater role in 

controlling Internet child pornography. Police may be an 

important force in lobbying for tighter restrictions. Among the 

proposals for tighter regulation are: 

4. Making ISPs legally responsible for site content. ISPs’ 

legal responsibilities to report child pornography vary among 

jurisdictions. In the United States, ISPs are legally required to 

38 Child Pornography on the Internet
report known illegal activity on their sites, but they are not 

required to actively search for such sites.68 It has been argued 

that ISPs’ legal responsibilities should be strengthened to 

require a more proactive role in blocking illegal sites.69 

5. Requiring the preservation of ISP records. Police may 

apply for a court order to seize ISP accounts.70 However, to 

assist in the prosecution of offenders, ISPs need to maintain 

good records of IP logging, caller ID, web hostings, and so 

forth.71

6. Requiring user verification. ISPs often exercise little 

control over verifying the identities of people who open 

Internet accounts. Accounts may be opened using false 

names and addresses, making it difficult to trace individuals 

who engage in illegal Internet activity. In addition, without 

verifying users’ ages, there is no way of knowing if children 

are operating Internet accounts without adult supervision. 

This problem of Internet anonymity is likely to increase as the 

potential to access the Internet via mobile phones becomes 

more common. It has been argued that both ISPs and mobile 

phone networks need to strengthen procedures for user 

verification.72

7. Regulating anonymous remailers. Remailers are 

servers that forward emails after stripping them of sender 

identification. It has been argued that much tighter regulation 

of remailers is necessary. Some have advocated making 

remailer administrators legally responsible for knowingly 

forwarding illegal material, while others have called for a 

complete ban on remailers.73 

8. Using key escrowed encryption. Encryption of 

pornographic images is shaping to be the biggest technological 

problem facing law enforcement agencies. Key escrowed 

Responses to the Problem of Internet Child Pornography 39
encryption would require anyone selling encryption software 

to supply a trusted third party with a key to the code.74 This 

has been strongly resisted by the computer industry. In the 

meantime, work continues on developing code-breaking 

software.

Strategies for Related Industries

There are a number of other promising strategies involving 

other industries with a stake in the Internet. Again, although 

police may have no direct role in implementing these 

strategies, they may be able to use their influence to encourage 

industries to act. Strategies include: 

9. Blocking credit card transactions. Although there 

has been considerable focus on the role of ISPs in enabling 

the distribution of Internet child pornography, there has 

been less attention given to the role played by credit card 

companies in allowing customers to pay for that pornography. 

It has been argued that credit card companies have a duty to 

not knowingly contribute to illegal acts.75 Some credit card 

companies have acknowledged the problem and vowed to 

act.76 

10. Boycotting sites by advertisers. Economic pressure may 

be applied to service providers to encourage them to monitor 

illegal content. In one example of this, major brands have 

withdrawn advertising from P2P networks that carry child 

pornography.77 

40 Child Pornography on the Internet
Workplace Responses

Many medium to large organizations maintain their own 

servers, which allow employees to access the Internet from 

and store data on their work computer. Work computers 

have been implicated in a number of child pornography 

cases.

78 Workplace strategies may be directed toward altering 

the behavior of potential offenders by reinforcing the costs 

associated with offending.

11. Adopting and enforcing workplace codes of conduct.

Many organizations have explicit policies regarding and 

consequences for the improper use of work computers. These 

policies need to be made clear to employees to remove any 

doubt about what standard of behavior is expected. 

12. Auditing computer use. The traffic through most workbased servers is less than that for commercial ISPs, making 

it more feasible for the system administrator to electronically 

monitor staff Internet use. 

13. Filtering web usage. By employing web filters, 

companies can place restrictions on the sites that employees 

can visit.79 

Citizens' Groups 

A number of nonprofit organizations have been established 

to raise public awareness about the issue of Internet child 

pornography and to act as political lobby groups. These 

groups include Wired Safety, Safeguarding Our Children – 

Responses to the Problem of Internet Child Pornography 41
United Mothers (SOC-UM), and End Child Prostitution, Child 

Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes 

(ECPAT).80 Citizens’ groups will usually work in cooperation 

with law enforcement agencies, and local police can provide 

active support for their activities, which include:

14. Educating the public. The main activity of these groups 

is to raise public awareness and provide tips for parents and 

teachers through their websites, publications, and online 

classes. 

15. Searching the Internet. Many of these groups have 

their own teams of volunteers who search the Internet, or 

hotlines where people can report Internet child pornography. 

Information gathered about child pornography is then passed 

on to law enforcement agencies. Volunteers should be careful 

not to inadvertently download child pornography and thus 

commit a crime. 

Parental Strategies

One of the concerns about Internet child pornography is 

that children may inadvertently access material, or may have 

material sent to them either as part of a grooming process or 

by cyber-stalkers. A number of products are available to assist 

parents in regulating Internet content for their children.81 

Police can play an educative role in informing parents of these 

effective strategies by:

16. Encouraging parents to use filtering software.

Commercially available software allows parents to restrict or 

monitor their children’s Internet usage and may be available as 

part of free parental controls by certain ISPs. These programs 

may block undesirable sites or provide a record of Internet 

sites visited. 

42 Child Pornography on the Internet
17. Encouraging parents to review web ratings. The 

Recreational Software Advisory Council on the Internet 

(RSACi) rates websites in much the same way movies are 

rated. This is a voluntary system that allows website operators 

to obtain a rating, which they can then code into their site. 

Ratings may be used as a filter on web browsers to help 

parents control their children’s Internet use.

18. Promoting the use of child-oriented search engines.

Those in charge of a website (the webmaster) may provide 

key words (meta-tags) that broadly identify their site to assist 

in the search process. However, a webmaster may include 

inappropriate key words in the meta-tag to increase visits 

to their site. For example, a child pornography site may be 

located under the key word ‘Disney’. A number of childoriented search engines (e.g., Yahooligans!) manually inspect 

sites for inappropriate material. 

Law Enforcement Responses

In the strategies discussed so far the police role has largely 

involved working in cooperation with other groups or 

acting as educators. A number of strategies are the primary 

responsibility of police. As a rule, local police will not 

carry out major operations. Most major operations require 

specialized expertise and inter-agency and inter-jurisdictional 

cooperation. (See Appendix C for a summary of major 

coordinated law enforcement operations in recent years.) 

However, local police will almost certainly encounter cases of 

Internet child pornography in the course of their daily policing 

activities. Law enforcement responses include: 

19. Locating child pornography sites. Police agencies 

may scan the Internet to locate and remove illegal child 

pornography sites. Many areas of the Internet are not 

Responses to the Problem of Internet Child Pornography 43
accessible via the usual commercial search engines, and 

investigators need to be skilled at conducting sophisticated 

searches of the ‘hidden net.’ Police may issue warnings to ISPs 

that are carrying illegal content. 

20. Conducting undercover sting operations. Law 

enforcement agents may enter pedophile newsgroups, chat 

rooms, or P2P networks posing as pedophiles and request 

emailed child pornography images from others in the group.82 

Alternatively, they may enter child or teen groups posing 

as children and engage predatory pedophiles lurking in the 

group who may send pornography or suggest a meeting. A 

variation of the sting operation is to place ads on the Internet 

offering child pornography for sale and wait for replies.83 

Recently, Microsoft announced the development of the Child 

Exploitation Tracking System to help link information such 

as credit card purchases, Internet chat room messages, and 

conviction histories.84

21. Setting up honey trap sites. These sites purport to 

contain child pornography but in fact are designed to capture 

the IP or credit card details of visitors trying to download 

images. These can be considered a type of sting operation 

and have resulted in numerous arrests. However, their primary 

purpose is to create uncertainty in the minds of those seeking 

child pornography on the Internet, and, therefore, reduce the 

sense of freedom and anonymity they feel (see Operation Pin 

in Appendix C). 

22. Publicizing crackdowns. Many police departments 

have learned to use the media to good effect to publicize 

crackdowns on Internet child pornography.85 Coverage of 

crackdowns in the mass media increases the perception among 

potential offenders that the Internet is an unsafe environment 

in which to access child pornography. 

44 Child Pornography on the Internet
23. Conducting traditional criminal investigations.

Although most media attention is often given to technological 

aspects of controlling Internet child pornography, in fact 

many arrests in this area arise from traditional investigative 

police work. Investigations may involve information from:

The public: The public may contact police directly, 

or information may be received on one of the various 

child pornography hotlines. 

Computer repairers/technicians: Some states 

mandate computer personnel to report illegal 

images.86 There are cases where computer repairers 

have found child pornography images on an 

offender’s hard drive and notified police.87 Police may 

establish relationships with local computer repairers/

technicians to encourage reporting. 

Victims: A point of vulnerability for producers of 

child pornography is the child who appears in the 

pornographic image. If the child informs others of 

his/her victimization, then the offender’s activities 

may be exposed.88 

Known traders: The arrest of one offender can 

lead to the arrest of other offenders with whom he 

has had dealings, producing a cascading effect. In 

some cases the arrested offender’s computer and 

Internet logs may provide evidence of associates. (See 

Operation Cathedral in Appendix C.) 

Unrelated investigations: There is increasing 

evidence that many sex offenders are criminally 

versatile and may commit a variety of other 

offenses.89 Police may find evidence of Internet child 

pornography while investigating unrelated crimes such 

as drug offenses. 

•

•

•

•

•

Responses to the Problem of Internet Child Pornography 45
46 Child Pornography on the Internet

Responses with Limited Effectiveness

24. Engaging in vigilantism. There are a few citizens’ 

groups (e.g., Ethical Hackers Against Pedophilia) that engage 

in direct vigilantism by hacking into and disabling suspected 

offenders’ computers, posting anti-pedophile messages 

on pedophile bulletin boards, and swamping pedophile 

newsgroups with the aim of closing them down.90 These 

activities are often illegal and are not endorsed by most 

citizens’ groups or by law enforcement agencies. 
Appendix A: Key Terms and Concepts 47

Appendix A: Key Terms and Concepts

The Internet is a global network comprising millions of 

smaller networks and individual computers connected by 

cable, telephone lines, or satellite links. The Internet permits 

individuals to connect with other computers around the 

world from the privacy of their own homes. Although 

the terms Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) are 

often used interchangeably, the web specifically refers to 

the worldwide collection of electronic documents and 

other files stored throughout the Internet (on web pages 

and in websites). The web accounts for 90 percent of 

Internet usage.91 The web allows individuals to search for 

and download text, graphics, audio, and video on topics of 

interest from around the world. They can also upload their 

own electronic files for others to access. In addition to the 

World Wide Web, the Internet enables a number of other 

services and forms of communication, including e-mail, 

mailing lists, e-groups, newsgroups, bulletin boards, chat 

rooms, instant messaging, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. 

These services permit a user to engage in conversations 

with other individuals and share electronic files. Specific 

terms associated with the Internet, the World Wide Web, and 

related communication services are in the following table: 

The Internet

Term Definition92

Host Any computer or network connected to the Internet.

Modem

Device for connecting a host to the Internet. 

Includes dial-up modems that may use standard 

telephone lines and dedicated cable modems. 

Internet 

Protocol (IP) 

address

A number that uniquely identifies each host using the 

Internet. 
48 Child Pornography on the Internet

Server

Internet 

Service 

Provider (ISP)

A business that provides individuals or companies 

access to the Internet (e.g., AOL, MSM, Earthlink). 

ISPs use authentication servers to verify customers’ 

passwords.

File Transfer 

Protocol (FTP)

A protocol that permits the downloading and 

uploading of electronic files. Downloading is the 

process by which a computer receives an electronic 

file from the Internet via an FTP server; uploading 

is the process of transferring electronic files from a 

computer to an FTP server on the Internet. 

The World Wide Web

Term Definition93

Web page 

An electronic document that may comprise text, 

graphics, audio, and video, as well as links to other 

pages. 

Website A collection of related web pages and associated 

media stored on a web server. 

Home page First page displayed on a website that usually acts as 

an introduction to the site. 

Web cam Video camera that permits live images to be 

displayed via a web page.

Universal 

Resource 

Locater (URL)

A web page’s unique location or address.

Web browser 

Software that allows web pages to be accessed and 

viewed (e.g., Internet Explorer, Netscape, MozillaFirefox). 

A computer configured to provide a service to other 

computers in a network, including access to hardware 

and software and centralized data storage. Different 

servers may be used to perform specific functions 

(e.g., web server or email server).
Appendix A: Key Terms and Concepts 49

Hyperlink A link provided within a web page to connect other 

related web pages. Pop-up links not requested by the 

user may also appear on some web pages.

Search engine A program (e.g., Google, Alta Vista) that locates 

websites and web pages using key words. 

Communication Services

Term Definition94

E-mail

A method of communication between individuals 

connected to the Internet involving the transmission 

of text messages and attached files.

Mailing lists

A group of e-mail addresses given a common name 

so all members on the list receive the same message. 

There is a central list owner who controls who is on 

the list and what material can be sent. Individuals may 

subscribe to have their name and address added to the 

mailing list. 

E-groups

Groups established to share information on a topic 

of common interest. Potential members need to 

subscribe to the group. In addition to email, an egroup may offer other features such as a chat room, a 

bulletin board, and a central home page. 

Newsgroups

A site, stored on a news server, that allows 

contributors to have discussions about a particular 

subject by posting text, pictures, etc., and responding 

to previous posts. In most cases no one owns a 

newsgroup and there is no central authority. However, 

in some cases a password may be required, and some 

newsgroups filter posts through a moderator. The 

network of newsgroups is called Usenet.
50 Child Pornography on the Internet

Bulletin Board 

Systems (BBS)

Bulletin board systems, which predate the Internet, 

are similar to newsgroups, but tend to be in real time 

to allow contributors to engage in conversations. 

Bulletin boards are often hosted by an owner rather 

than a server, and may be accessed directly via a 

modem without going through the Internet. 

Chat rooms 

A chat room is a location on a server that permits 

multiple users to engage in real-time conversations 

and exchange electronic files. Many chat rooms are 

open to anyone to log into, but some are closed. They 

may employ a moderator, but users can nominate a 

pseudonym. 

Instant 

messaging (IM)

Similar to chat rooms, but instant messaging permits 

private conversations with nominated contacts. Once 

a connection is established, direct contact between 

users is possible without the need for a central server. 

Peer-to-peer 

(P2P)

A network in which each computer is an equal partner 

and all work cooperatively together. All computers 

in the network have a common file-sharing program 

(e.g., KaZaA, Morpheus, Limewire), allowing users to 

connect directly to each other’s hard drive to search 

for and exchange files. 
Appendix B: Agencies and Programs Addressing Internet Child Pornography 51

Appendix B: Agencies and Programs 

Addressing Internet Child Pornography

A variety of law enforcement agencies have a stake in 

preventing and investigating Internet child pornography. 

Some of these agencies have specific programs or sections 

to focus resources and coordinate ongoing responses. In the 

United States, key agencies and services include:95 

Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section 

(CEOS): A section of the U.S. Department of 

Justice’s Criminal Division, CEOS specializes in the 

investigation and prosecution of child exploitation 

and obscenity cases, including child pornography. 

It provides training for federal, state and local 

prosecutors and law enforcement agents concerning 

these crimes. 

www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/childporn.html

CyberSmuggling Center: Formed by the U.S. 

Customs Service, the center focuses particularly on 

undercover operations into international production 

and distribution of child pornography. 

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/home.xml

Cyber Tipline: An online clearinghouse for tips and 

leads on Internet child exploitation. The program 

is jointly sponsored by the NCMEC, the U.S. Postal 

Inspection Service, the U.S. Customs Service, and the 

FBI. 

www.cybertipline.com

Innocent Images: The central operation and case 

management system coordinating FBI investigations 

into child exploitation via the Internet. 

www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/innocent.htm

•

•

•

•
Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC): A task 

force program initiated by the Office of Juvenile 

Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S. 

Department of Justice. It provides regional clusters 

of forensic and investigative expertise to assist state 

and local law enforcement agencies in dealing with 

Internet child exploitation. 

http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/programs/index.html

National Center for Missing & Exploited 

Children (NCMEC): A private, nonprofit 

organization whose mission includes following up on 

tips from the Cyber Tipline and providing technical 

assistance and training to other agencies. 

www.missingkids.com

National Sex Offender Public Registry: A web 

site supported by the U.S. Department of Justice 

that provides details on the location of offenders 

convicted of sexually violent offenses.

www.nsopr.gov

U.S. Postal Inspection Service: This service 

has particular responsibilities to investigate the 

distribution of child pornography via mail. Internet 

activity is often supported through traditional mail. 

www.usps.com/postalinspectors

•

•

•

•

52 Child Pornography on the Internet
Appendix C: Examples of Coordinated Law Enforcement Operations 53

Appendix C: Examples of Coordinated 

Law Enforcement Operations

A number of major law enforcement operations demonstrate 

the need for interagency and international cooperation. A 

summary of major operations is shown in the table below.

Operation Avalanche/Ore96

The Problem The Response The Outcome

Landslide Productions was a 

child pornography company 

operating out of Fort Worth, 

Texas. Landslide had a complex 

network of some 5,700 

websites worldwide (especially 

in Russia and Indonesia) that 

stored child pornography 

images. The operation in Fort 

Worth acted as a gateway 

into the network. Online 

customers provided credit 

card details to obtain network 

access. Landslide scrambled 

these credit card numbers to 

protect customers’ identities. 

There were more than 390,000 

subscribers from 60 countries, 

generating a monthly turnover 

of up to $1.4 million.

The investigation began in 

1999 when the U.S. Postal 

Inspection Service discovered 

that Landslide’s customers were 

sending monthly subscription 

fees to a post office box or paying 

them through the Internet. A 

joint investigation between the 

U.S. Postal Inspection Service 

and the Internet Crimes Against 

Children Task Force (ICAC), 

comprising more than 45 officers, 

was conducted over two years 

(Operation Avalanche). Officers 

cracked the code that scrambled 

the credit card numbers and then 

tracked down the card owners. 

Landslide’s bank accounts were 

seized and 160 search warrants 

were executed that recovered 

large quantities of child 

pornography. The investigation 

was expanded to include the U.K. 

police (Operation Ore).

To date, 120 arrests have been 

made in the U.S., including 

the two principal operators 

who were given life and 14-

year sentences respectively in 

2001. In the U.K. some 7,000 

customers were identified, 

1,300 people arrested, and 40 

children taken into protective 

custody. Despite closing 

down Landslide Productions, 

there has been criticism that 

relatively few offenders have 

been successfully prosecuted. 
54 Child Pornography on the Internet

Operation Cathedral97

The Problem The Response The Outcome

The Wonderland Club was an 

exclusive online pedophile ring 

in which members reportedly 

had to produce 10,000 child 

pornography images for 

membership. At least 180 

individuals from at least 33 

countries had met this criterion, 

and seven members between 

them had contributed 750,000 

images.

In 1996, two U.S. offenders 

charged with online child 

pornography offenses (the Orchid 

Club) cooperated with police 

and provided information about 

a British offender. Evidence 

from that offender’s computer 

hard drive led to the discovery 

of the Wonderland Club. The 

operation, conducted between 

1998 and 2001, involved U.S. 

and British police coordinating 

through Interpol. Although agents 

were unable to gain undercover 

entry into the club, they were 

able to monitor transactions 

and gather evidence from the 

outside. Eventually, 35 members 

were identified. Police forces in 

12 countries carried out more 

than 100 simultaneous raids on 

suspects. 

The Wonderland Club was 

destroyed, and there were 107 

arrests around the world, 14 

of which were in the United 

States.

Operation Candyman98

The Problem The Response The Outcome

Candyman, was an open 

e-group maintained by Yahoo 

that was involved in exchanging 

child pornography. It had 7,000 

members, 4,600 of which were 

in the United States and the 

remaining 2,400 lived around 

the world. 

Undercover FBI agents identified 

and infiltrated the e-group in a 

year-long undercover operation 

ending in 2002. The task force 

comprised 56 FBI field officers. 

A court order was obtained to 

compel Yahoo to provide the 

unique e-mail addresses of all 

members, and subpoenas were 

issued to all ISPs to provide the 

addresses of U.S. users.

The FBI was able to obtain 

1,400 addresses, from which 

707 suspects were identified, 

266 searches carried out, and 

89 arrests made to date. Those 

arrested include a school bus 

driver, a teacher’s aide, law 

enforcement personnel, and 

clergy members.
Appendix C: Examples of Coordinated Law Enforcement Operations 55

Operation Pin99

The operation is directed at 

the general proliferation of 

child pornography websites 

and the number of people 

accessing these sites. In 

particular it is aimed at casual 

or first-time offenders. 

The operation was started in 

2003 by West Midlands (U.K.) 

police and expanded to include 

the FBI, the Australian Federal 

Police, the Royal Canadian 

Mounties, and Interpol. Far 

from being a covert operation, 

it was officially launched with 

media releases by the relevant 

police forces. It is a classic 

honey trap operation. A 

website purporting to contain 

child pornography was set 

up. Visitors to the site were 

required to go through a series 

of web pages, which appeared 

to be identical to real web porn 

sites, searching for the image 

they wanted. At each point it 

was reinforced that they were 

in a child pornography site, 

and they were given the option 

to exit. When they did try to 

access an image they were told 

they had committed a crime. 

They were tracked down via 

their credit card details, which 

they were required to provide to 

login. 

This crime prevention 

operation has resulted in 

numerous arrests; however, 

precise numbers are not 

available. Its main purpose 

is to make searchers of child 

pornography on the Internet 

uncertain that they can do 

so anonymously. Details 

of the sting operation were 

widely publicized on child 

pornography sites, contributing 

to the deterrent effect. 

The Problem The Response The Outcome

Appendix D: Summary of Responses to 

Internet Child Pornography

 

The table below summarizes the responses to Internet 

child pornography, the mechanisms by which they are 

intended to work, the conditions under which they ought 

to work best, and some factors you should consider before 

implementing a particular response. It is critical that you 

tailor your responses to local circumstances, and that you 

can justify each response based on reliable analysis. In 

most cases, an effective strategy will involve implementing 

several different responses. Law enforcement responses 

alone are seldom effective in reducing or solving the 

problem. 

Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

Computer Industry Self Regulation

1. 38 Removing 

illegal sites

Reduces 

availability of 

pornography; 

ISPs agree 

voluntarily 

to refuse to 

accept child 

pornography 

sites and to 

remove any 

sites once 

identified

...all ISPs agree to 

participate

There is a financial 

advantage for some ISPs 

to continue to accept 

child pornography sites. 

Pressure may be applied 

to ISPs by police to 

increase compliance; some 

international ISPs are 

beyond the reach of formal 

codes of conduct

2. 38 Establishing 

complaint 

sites/hotlines

Facilitates 

reporting; 

public is given 

the opportunity 

to report illegal 

sites

...existence of the 

complaint sites/

hotlines are widely 

known

Although many reported 

sites will have already been 

identified by the ISP, sites 

that have escaped the cyber 

patrols may be uncovered

Appendix D: Summary of Responses to Internet Child Pornography 57
Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

3. 38 Filtering 

browsers/

search engines

Prevents 

customers from 

accessing child 

pornography 

sites

...all providers agree 

to use filters

Not all illegal sites will be 

identified; applies only to 

child pornography located 

on open areas of the web

Legislative Regulation

4. 38 Making 

ISPs legally 

responsible for 

site content

Enhances 

screening and 

surveillance 

of child 

pornography; 

ISPs to be 

legally required 

to identify and 

remove illegal 

sites

...there is national 

and international 

consistency in 

legislative approach

Resisted by computer 

industry, which favors selfregulation; debate about the 

balance between protecting 

society and free speech

5. 39 Requiring the 

preservation of 

ISP records

Facilitates 

criminal 

investigations; 

records of 

customers’ 

Internet use 

are retained in 

case required as 

evidence

Same as No. 4 above Same as No. 4 above

6. 39 Requiring user 

verification

Deters 

offenders from 

seeking child 

pornography 

on the World 

Wide Web; ISPs 

should require 

verification of 

an applicant’s 

identity before 

providing an 

account

Same as No. 4 above Same as No. 4 above; this 

problem will become more 

critical as greater integration 

of Internet and mobile 

phone services occurs

58 Child Pornography on the Internet
Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

7. 39 Regulating 

anonymous 

remailers

Reduces 

anonymity 

of offenders; 

remailer 

administrators 

are made legally 

responsible 

for material 

forwarded

Same as No. 4 above Same as No. 4 above

8. 39 Using key 

escrowed 

encryption

Reduces 

anonymity 

of offenders; 

encryption 

keys held by a 

trusted third 

party

Same as No. 4 above Same as No. 4 above

Strategies for Related Industries

9. 40 Blocking 

credit card 

transactions

Deters 

offenders 

and/or reduces 

profitability of 

online child 

pornography; 

credit card 

companies 

refuse to 

authorize 

payments 

for child 

pornography

...all companies agree 

to participate

Not all child pornography 

requires payment 

10. 40 Boycotting 

sites by 

advertisers

Reduces 

profitability of 

online child 

pornography; 

companies 

refuse to place 

advertisements 

on networks 

that carry child 

pornography

...the boycott is 

widespread and highly 

publicized

The aim of boycotts is to 

pressure service providers 

to monitor illegal activity 

Appendix D: Summary of Responses to Internet Child Pornography 59
Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

Workplace Responses

11. 41 Adopting and 

enforcing 

workplace 

codes of 

conduct 

Deters 

offenders 

by removing 

excuses for 

using workplace 

computers to 

access child 

pornography; 

organizations 

that maintain 

their own 

servers have 

explicit policies 

governing 

computer use 

by staff

...codes are 

formal and clearly 

communicated to all 

staff

Applies only to child 

pornography accessed or 

stored at work

12. 41 Auditing 

computer use 

Deters 

offenders by 

increasing 

surveillance of 

their computer 

use; staff 

Internet use 

is routinely 

monitored

...staff are aware in 

advance that audits 

will be conducted

Same as No. 11 above

13. 41 Filtering web 

usage

Reduces access 

to online child 

pornography; 

companies 

restrict the sites 

that employees 

may visit

Same as No. 11 above Same as No. 11 above

60 Child Pornography on the Internet
Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

Citizens' Groups

14. 42 Educating the 

public

Enhances 

awareness and 

improves web 

surveillance; 

information 

is provided to 

parents and 

teachers about 

Internet child 

pornography

...it is done in 

cooperation with law 

enforcement agencies

Directed mainly toward 

preventing online 

exploitation of children and 

access by children to child 

pornography

15. 42 Searching the 

Internet

Enhances web 

surveillance; 

hotlines and 

Internet 

searches by 

volunteers 

identify child 

pornography 

sites 

Same as No. 14 above Volunteers need to be 

careful not to download 

pornography and thus 

commit a crime

Parental Strategies

16. 42 Encouraging 

parents to 

use filtering 

software 

Reduces 

exposure of 

children to 

online child 

pornography; 

software 

installed 

on home 

computers that 

restricts sites 

that may be 

visited and/or 

keeps a record 

of sites visited

...combined with 

supervision of 

children’s computer 

use and education 

about appropriate 

sites

Specifically targets 

children’s access to child 

pornography; police have a 

role in educating the public 

about safe Internet use

Appendix D: Summary of Responses to Internet Child Pornography 61
Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

17. 43 Encouraging 

parents to 

review web 

ratings 

Reduces 

exposure of 

children to 

online child 

pornography; 

websites 

independently 

rated for age 

suitability

Same as No. 16 above Same as No. 16 above

18. 43 Promoting the 

use of childoriented search 

engines

Reduces 

exposure of 

children to 

online child 

pornography; 

search engines 

specifically 

designed 

for children, 

where sites 

are manually 

inspected for 

inappropriate 

material

Same as No. 16 above Same as No. 16 above

Law Enforcement Responses

19. 43 Locating child 

pornography 

sites

Increases an 

offender’s 

risk of 

apprehension; 

law 

enforcement 

agencies 

conduct their 

own searches 

of the Internet 

for child 

pornography

...coordinated with 

other agencies and 

jurisdictions 

Requires specialized 

expertise to access hidden 

areas of the Internet

62 Child Pornography on the Internet
Appendix D: Summary of Responses to Internet Child Pornography 63

Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

20. 44 Conducting 

undercover 

sting 

operations 

Deters 

offenders 

through 

increased 

risk of 

apprehension; 

undercover law 

enforcement 

agents enter 

pedophile 

newsgroups, 

etc., to collect 

evidence 

against 

offenders

Same as No. 19 above Same as No. 19 above; may 

target novice or low-level 

offenders 

21. 44 Setting up 

honey trap sites 

Increases an 

offender’s 

risk of 

apprehension; 

phony child 

pornography 

sites are 

established 

that capture 

the details 

of offenders 

who attempt 

to access the 

supposed 

pornography

...the existence of 

the sites is widely 

publicized to increase 

the deterrent effect

Same as No. 20 above

22. 44 Publicizing 

crackdowns

Increases the 

perception 

among 

offenders that 

the Internet 

is an unsafe 

environment 

to access child 

pornography

...publicity is 

widespread and 

sustained

Same as No. 20 above
64 Child Pornography on the Internet

Response 

No.

Page 

No.

Response How It Works Works Best If... Considerations

23. 45 Conducting 

traditional 

criminal 

investigations

Increases an 

offender’s 

risk of 

apprehension; 

police uncover 

information 

about child 

pornography in 

the course of 

their daily work

...police have 

strong links with key 

community groups

Key role for local police

Responses With Limited Effectiveness

24. 46 Engaging in 

vigilantism 

Increases an 

offender’s 

risk of 

apprehension; 

vigilantes 

disable 

suspected 

offenders’ 

computers 

and disrupt 

pedophile 

newsgroups

Actions may be illegal
Endnotes 65

Endnotes

Tate (1990); Tyler (1985).

Crewdson (1988); Tate (1990).

Jewkes and Andrews (2005); Williams (2003).

Wolak et al. (2003).

Jenkins (2001).

Alder (2001); Esposito (1998); Graham, (2000); Grasz and 

Pfaltzgraff (1998); Klain, Davies, and Hicks (2001); Linz 

and Imrich (2001).

Sexual Exploitation of Children Act (Pub.L. 95-225, 92 

Stat. 7); New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747 (1982); Child 

Protection Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 2251, 2252, et seq.); United 

States v. Dost, 636 F.Supp. 828, 832 (S.D. Cal. 1986), aff ’d 

sub nom.; United States v. Wiegand, 812 F.2d 1239, 1244-45 

(9th Cir. 1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 856 (1987); Child 

Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act (amending §§ 

2251, 2252); Osborne v. Ohio, 495 U.S. 103 (1990); Child 

Pornography Protection Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 2252A, 2256(8)); 

Child Protector and Sexual Predator Punishment Act (42 

U.S.C. §§ 13032); Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234 

(2002). 

United States v. Knox, 32 F.3d 733 (3d Cir. 1994), cert denied, 

513 U.S. 1109 (1995).

Jenkins (2001).

Klain, Davies, and Hicks (2001).

Taylor, Holland, and Quayle (2001).

Lanning and Burgess (1989).

Blundell et al. (2002); Calder (2004); Ferraro et al. (2004); 

Jenkins (2001); U.S. General Accounting Office (2003).

Khan (2000).

Forde and Patterson (1998); Jenkins (2001); Lesce (1999).

Burke et al. (2002).

Forde and Patterson (1998); Jenkins (2001); Lesce (1999).

Wellard (2001).

Carr (2004).

Jenkins (2001).

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.
Jenkins (2001).

Simon (2000).

Dobson (2003); Wellard (2001).

Smallbone and Wortley (2000).

Blundell et al. (2002); Schwartz and Southern (2000).

Calder (2004).

Blundell et al. (2002); Schneider (2000).

Linz and Imrich (2001).

Quayle and Taylor (2001).

Cooper et al. (1999).

Krone (2004).

Lanning and Burgess (1989).

Klain, Davies, and Hicks (2001).

Silbert (1989).

Marshall (2000).

Marshall (1988); Proulx, Perreult, and Ouimet (1999).

Linz and Imrich (2001); Marshall (2000).

Kennedy-Souza (1998); Taylor and Quayle (2003).

Goldstein (1999).

O’Connell (2001).

Aftab (2000).

Finkelhor, Mitchell, and Wolak (2000); Donnerstein 

(2002).

Aloysius (2001).

Calder (2004).

Ferraro et al. (2004).

Ferraro et al. (2004).

Grant, David, and Grabosky (1997).

Ferraro et al. (2004); Graham (2000).

U.S. General Accounting Office (2003).

Jewkes and Andrews (2005).

Graham (2000); Stanley (2001); Thomas (1997).

Jenkins (2001).

Grant, David, and Grabosky (1997).

Krone (2004).

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

54.

66 Child Pornography on the Internet
Endnotes 67

Khan (2000).

Jenkins (2001).

Burke et al. (2002); Forde and Patterson (1998); Mostyn 

(2000); Thornburgh and Lin (2002).

Jewkes and Andrews (2005).

Jewkes and Andrews (2005).

Jewkes and Andrews (2005).

Taylor and Quayle (2003).

Wellard (2001).

Wolak et al. (2003).

Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime 

(2000).

Stewart (1997).

Thornburgh and Lin (2002); Lee, Hui, and Fong 

(2003).

Wang et al. (1998).

Klain, Davies, and Hicks (2001); Canadian Resource 

Centre for Victims of Crime (2000).

Stanley (2001).

Ferraro et al. (2004); Kreston (2004).

Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime 

(2000).

Carr (2004).

Mostyn (2000).

Graham (2000).

Taylor and Quayle (2006).

Anonymous (2003); Sutton and Jones (2004).

Adegoke (2003).

Ferraro et al. (2004).

Lee, Hui, and Fong (2003).

Arnaldo (2000).

Aftab (2001); Lee, Hui, and Fong (2003); Thornburgh 

and Lin (2002); Wang et al. (1998).

U.S. Department of Justice (2004). 

Avarda, Colorado Police Department (1996); Lesce 

(1999).

Duff-Brown (2005).

55.

56.

57.

58.

59.

60.

61.

62.

63.

64.

65.

66.

67.

68.

69.

70.

71.

72.

73.

74.

75.

76.

77.

78.

79.

80.

81.

82.

83.

84.

Endnotes 67
68

BBC News (13 February 2001); BBC News (11 

November 2002); BBC News (18 December 2003).

DeMarco (2005).

Jenkins (2001).

Lesce (1999).

Simon (2000).

Grant, David, and Grabosky (1997); Jenkins (2001).

Arnaldo (2001).

Calder (2004); Ferraro et al. (2004); Shelley, Cashman, 

and Vermaat (2004).

Calder (2004); Ferraro et al. (2004); Shelley, Cashman, 

and Vermaat (2004).

Blundell et al. (2002); Calder (2004); Ferraro et al. 

(2004); Jenkins (2001); Thornburgh and Lin (2002).

U.S. General Accounting Office (2002); Klain, Davies, 

and Hicks (2001).

BBC News (11 November 2002); Jewkes and Andrews 

(2005); U.S. Postal Inspection Service (n.d.).

BBC News (13 February 2001); Graham (2000).

Federal Bureau of Investigation (March 18 2002).

BBC News (18 December 2003).

85.

86.

87.

88.

89.

90.

91.

92.

93.

94.

95.

96.

97.

98.

99.

Child Pornography on the Internet
References 69

References

Adegoke, Y. (2003). “Top Brands Start to Pull Ads From P2P 

Networks. New Media Age, April 24, p. 1.

Adler, A. (2001). “The Perverse Law of Child Pornography.” 

Columbia Law Review 101(2):209–273.

Aftab, P. (2000). The Parent’s Guide to Protecting Your Children in 

Cyberspace. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Aloysius, C. (2001). “The Media Response: A Journalist’s 

View of the Problem in Asia.” In C.A. Arnaldo, ed., 

Child Abuse on the Internet: Ending the Silence. New York: 

Berghahn Books. 

Anonymous (2003). “Buried by a Pile of Porn: Child 

Pornography.” The Economist (U.S.), Jan. 18, 2003, Vol. 366, 

Issue 8307.

Arnaldo, C. (2002). “The Naked, Hairy Caveman: Child 

Abuse on the Internet.” In C. von Feilitzen and U. 

Carlsson, eds., Children in the New Media Landscape. 

Goteberg, Sweden: UNESCO International Clearinghouse 

on Children and Violence on the Screen at Nordicom.

Arnaldo, C. (2001). Child Abuse on the Internet: Ending the 

Silence. Paris: UNESCO Publishing; New York: Berghahn 

Books.

Arvada (Colorado) Police Department (1996). “Arvada Police 

Department Crimes Against Children Unit.” Submission 

for the Herman Goldstein Award for Excellence in 

Problem-Oriented Policing. www.popcenter.org/library/

goldstein/1996/96-02.pdf.
BBC News, “Tackling Online Child Pornography.” 

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1166135.stm (Accessed 

February 13, 2001).

BBC News, “Operation Avalanche: Tracking Child Porn.” 

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2445065.stm (Accessed 

November 11, 2002).

BBC News, “Police Trap Online Paedophiles.” 

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3329567.stm (Accessed 

December 18, 2003).

Blundell, B., M. Sherry, A. Burke, and S. Sowerbutts (2002). 

“Child Pornography and the Internet: Accessibility and 

Policing.” Australian Police Journal 56(1):59–65.

Burke, A., S. Sowerbutts, B. Blundell, and M. Sherry (2002). 

“Child Pornography and the Internet: Policing and 

Treatment Issues.” Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 9(1):79–4.

Calder, M. (2004). Child Sexual Abuse and the Internet: Tackling 

the New Frontier. Lyme Regis (United Kingdom): Russell 

House Publishing.

Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime (2000). 

“Child Sexual Exploitation and the Internet.” Ottawa 

(Ontario). the Author. 

Carr, J. (2004). Child Abuse, Child Pornography and the Internet. 

London: NCH.

Cooper, A., D.E. Putnam, L.A. Planchon, and S.C. Boies. 

(1999). “Online Sexual Compulsivity: Getting Tangled in 

the Net.” Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity 6:79–104.

70 Child Pornography on the Internet
References 71

Crewdson, J. (1998). By Silence Betrayed: Sexual Abuse of 

Children in America. Boston: Little Brown.

DeMarco, R.T. (2005). “Technology and the Fight Against 

Child Pornography. Watch Right.” blog.watchright.com/

?itemid=337.

Dobson, A. (2003). “Caught in the Net.” Care and Health, 

Feb. 13 pp. 6–9.

Donnerstein, E. (2002). “The Internet.” In V.C. Strasburger 

and B.J. Wilson, eds., Children, Adolescents and the Media. 

Thousand Oaks (California): Sage Publications.

Duff-Brown, B. (2005). “Software Helps Track Child 

Pornographers.” Associated Press. 

www.boston.com/business/technology/

articles/2005/04/08/software_helps_track_child_

pornographers.

Esposito, L. (1998). “Regulating the Internet: The New Battle 

Against Child Pornography.” Case Western Reserve Journal of 

International Law 30:541–565.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (2002). “Operation 

Candyman.” www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel02/cm031802.

htm.

Ferraro, M., E. Casey, and M. McGrath (2004). Investigating 

Child Exploitation and Pornography: The Internet, The Law and 

Forensic Science. Amsterdam, Boston: Elsevier/Academic.

Finkelhor, D., K.J. Mitchell, and J. Wolak (2000). Online 

Victimization: A Report on the Nation’s Youth. Crimes Against 

Youth Research Center. www.missingkids.com.
Forde, P., and A. Patterson (1998). Paedophile Internet Activity. 

Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, No. 97. 

Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. www.aic.gov.

au/publications/tandi/ti97.pdf.

Goldstein, S. (1999). The Sexual Exploitation of Children: A 

Practical Guide to Assessment, Investigation, and Intervention. (2nd 

ed.). Boca Raton (Florida): CRC Press.

Graham, W., Jr. (2000). “Uncovering and Eliminating Child 

Pornography Rings on the Internet: Issues Regarding 

and Avenues Facilitating Law Enforcement’s Access to 

‘Wonderland’.” The Law Review of Michigan State UniversityDetroit College of Law 2:457–484.

Grant, A., F. David, and P. Grabosky (1997). “Child 

Pornography in the Digital Age.” Transnational Organized 

Crime 3(4):171–188.

Grasz, L., and P. Pfaltzgraff (1998). “Child Pornography and 

Child Nudity: Why and How States May Constitutionally 

Regulate the Production, Possession, and Distribution of 

Nude Visual Depictions of Children.” Temple Law Review

71:609–636.

Jenkins, P. (2001). Beyond Tolerance: Child Pornography on the 

Internet. New York: New York University Press.

Jewkes, Y., and C. Andrews (2005). “Policing the Filth: The 

Problems of Investigating Online Child Pornography in 

England and Wales.” Policing and Society 15: 42–62. 

Kennedy-Souza, B.L. (1998). “Internet Addiction Order.” 

Interpersonal Computing and Technology 6:1–2.

72 Child Pornography on the Internet
References 73

Khan, K. (2000). “Child Pornography on the Internet.” Police 

Journal 73(1):7–17.

Klain, E., H. Davies and M. Hicks (2001). Child Pornography: 

The Criminal-Justice-System Response. Washington, D.C.: 

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. www.

missingkids.com/en_US/publications/NC81.pdf.

Kreston, S.S. (2004). “Computer Search and Seizure Issues in 

Internet Crimes Against Children Cases.” Rutgers Computer 

and Technology Law Journal 30:327–373.

Krone, T. (2004). A Typology of Online Child Pornography 

Offending. Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, 

No. 279. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. 

www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi279.pdf.

Lanning, K., and A. Burgess (1989). “Child Pornography and 

Sex Rings.” In D. Zillmann and J. Bryant, eds., Pornography: 

Research Advances & Policy Considerations. Hillsdale (New 

Jersey): Lawrence Erlbaum.

Lee, P., S. Hui, and A. Fong (2003). “A Structural and 

Content-Based Analysis for Web Filtering.” Internet 

Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy

13(1):27–37.

Lesce, T. (1999). “Pedophiles on the Internet: Law 

Enforcement Investigates Abuse.” Law and Order

47(5):74–78.

Linz, D., and D. Imrich (2001). “Child Pornography.” In 

S. White, ed., Handbook of Youth and Justice. New York: 

Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
74

Marshall, W.L. (1988). “The Use of Explicit Sexual Stimuli by 

Rapists, Child Molesters and Nonoffender Males.” Journal 

of Sex Research 25:267–288. 

Marshall, W.L. (2000). “Revisiting the Use of Pornography by 

Sexual Offenders: Implications for Theory and Practice.” 

The Journal of Sexual Aggression 6:67–77.

Mostyn, M. (2000). “The Need for Regulating Anonymous 

Remailers.” International Review of Law, Computers & 

Technology 14(1):79–88.

Newman, G.R. (2004). “Identity Theft.” Problem Oriented 

Guides for Police. Problem-Specific Guide Series, No. 25. U.S. 

Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented 

Policing Services. www.cops.usdoj.gov/mime/open.

pdf?Item=1271. 

O’Connell, R. (2001). “Pedophiles Networking on the 

Internet.” In C. Arnaldo, ed., Child Abuse on the Internet: 

Ending the Silence. New York: Berghahn Books.

Proulx, J., C. Perreult, and M. Ouimet (1999). “Pathways 

in the Offending Process of Extrafamilial Sexual Child 

Molesters.” Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and 

Treatment 11:117–29. 

Quayle, E., and M. Taylor (2001). “Child Seduction and SelfRepresentation on the Internet.” CyberPsychology & Behavior

4(5):597–608.

Schneider, J.P. (2000). “Effects of Cybersex Addiction on the 

Family: Results of a Survey.” In A. Cooper, ed., Cybersex: 

The Dark Side of the Force. New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Child Pornography on the Internet
References 75

Schwartz, M.F., and S. Southern (2000). “Compulsive 

Cybersex.” In A. Cooper, ed., Cybersex: The Dark Side of 

the Force. New York: Brunner/Mazel. 

Shelley, G.B., T.J. Cashman, and M.E. Vermaat (2004). 

Discovering Computers: A Gateway to Information. Boston: 

Thomson.

Silbert, M. (1989). “The Effects on Juveniles of Being Used 

for Pornography and Prostitution.” In D. Zillmann and 

J. Bryant, eds., Pornography: Research Advances & Policy 

Considerations. Hillsdale (New Jersey): Lawrence Erlbaum.

Simon, L. (2000). “An Examination of the Assumptions of 

Specialization, Mental Disorder, and Dangerousness in 

Sex Offenders.” Behavioral Sciences and the Law 18:275–308.

Smallbone, S., and R. Wortley (2000). Child Sexual Abuse 

in Queensland: Offender Characteristics and Modus Operandi. 

Brisbane: Queensland Crime Commission.

Stanley, J. (2001). Child Abuse and the Internet. National 

Child Protection Clearinghouse, No. 15 Summer. 

Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies. 

www.aifs.org.au/nch.

Stewart, J. (1997). “If This Is the Global Community, We 

Must Be On the Bad Side of Town: International Policing 

of Child Pornography on the Internet.” Houston Journal of 

International Law 20(1):205–246.

Sutton, D., and V. Jones (2004). Position Paper on Child 

Pornography and Internet-Related Sexual Exploitation of 

Children. Save the Children. 
76

Tate, T. (1990). Child Pornography: An Investigation. London: 

Methuen.

Taylor, M., G. Holland, and E. Quayle (2001). “Typology of 

Paedophile Picture Collections.” Police Journal 74(2):97–107.

Taylor, M., and E. Quayle. (2006). “The Internet and Abuse 

Images of Children: Search, Precriminal Situations and 

Opportunity.” In R. Wortley and S. Smallbone (eds.) 

Situational Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. Crime Prevention 

Studies, Vol. 19. Monsey (New York): Criminal Justice 

Press.

Taylor, M., and E. Quayle (2003). Child Pornography: An Internet 

Crime. London: Brunner-Routledge.

Thomas, D.S. (1997). “Cyberspace Pornography: Problems 

with Enforcement.” Internet Research: Electronic Networking 

Applications and Policy 7(3):201–207. 

Thornburgh, D., and H. Lin (2002). Youth, Pornography, and the 

Internet. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Tyler, R. (1985). “Child Pornography: Perpetuating the 

Sexual Victimization of Children.” Child Abuse & Neglect

9(3):313–318.

U.S. Department of Justice (2004). Department of Justice, 

Homeland Security Announce Child Pornography File-Sharing 

Crackdown: Law Enforcement Initiative Targets Child Pornography 

Over Peer-to-Peer Networks.

www.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel04/p2p051404.htm.

Child Pornography on the Internet
References 77

U.S. General Accounting Office (2002). Combating Child 

Pornography: Federal Agencies Coordinate Law Enforcement 

Efforts, But An Opportunity Exists for Further Enhancement. 

Washington, D.C.: the Author. www.gao.gov/new.items/

d03272.pdf.

U.S. General Accounting Office (2003). File-sharing 

Programs: Peer-to-Peer Networks Provide Ready Access to Child 

Pornography. Washington, D.C.: the Author. 

www.gao.gov/new.items/d03351.pdf.

U.S. Postal Inspection Service, (n.d.). Operation Avalanche. 

www.usps.com/postalinspectors/avalanch.htm.

Wang, J., J. Li, G. Wiederhold, and O. Firschein (1998). 

“System for Screening Objectionable Images.” Computer 

Communications 21:1355–1360.

Wellard, S.S. (2001). “Cause and Effect.” Community Care

March 15–21, pp. 26–27.

Williams, K. (2003). “Controlling Internet Child Pornography 

and Protecting the Child.” Information & Communications 

Technology Law 12(1):3–24.

Wolak, J., K. Mitchell, and D. Finkelhor (2003). “Escaping or 

Connecting? Characteristics of Youth Who Form Close 

Online Relationships.” Journal of Adolescence 26:105–119.

About the Authors 79

About the Authors

The authors are currently collaborating on two books on the policing 

and prevention of child sexual abuse—a co-edited book entitled 

Situational Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, and a co-authored book 

(also with Bill Marshall) entitled Evidence-based Prevention of Sexual 

Offenses Against Children.

Richard Wortley

Richard Wortley is an Associate Professor in the School of 

Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University in Brisbane, 

Australia. Before taking up a university appointment, he worked as 

a prison psychologist for 10 years. He is a past national chair of the 

Australian College of Forensic Psychologists. He is widely published 

in the areas of situational crime prevention, corrections, and sexual 

offending. His recent book is Situational Prison Control: Crime Prevention 

in Correctional Institutions. 

Stephen Smallbone

Stephen Smallbone worked as a correctional psychologist for eight 

years before taking up an academic appointment in 1998. He is 

currently a senior lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice at 

Griffith University and is Director of the Griffith Adolescent Forensic 

Assessment and Treatment Centre. Since completing his Ph.D. in 

1999, Dr. Smallbone has produced more than 20 peer-reviewed 

articles and book chapters on sexual offending. 

Recommended Readings 81

Recommended Readings

• A Police Guide to Surveying Citizens and Their 

Environments, Bureau of Justice Assistance, 1993. This 

guide offers a practical introduction for police practitioners 

to two types of surveys that police find useful: surveying 

public opinion and surveying the physical environment. It 

provides guidance on whether and how to conduct costeffective surveys.

• Assessing Responses to Problems: An 

Introductory Guide for Police Problem-Solvers,

by John E. Eck (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services, 2001). This guide 

is a companion to the Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series. 

It provides basic guidance to measuring and assessing 

problem-oriented policing efforts.

• Conducting Community Surveys, by Deborah Weisel 

(Bureau of Justice Statistics and Office of Community 

Oriented Policing Services, 1999). This guide, along with 

accompanying computer software, provides practical, basic 

pointers for police in conducting community surveys. The 

document is also available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs.

• Crime Prevention Studies, edited by Ronald V. Clarke 

(Criminal Justice Press, 1993, et seq.). This is a series of 

volumes of applied and theoretical research on reducing 

opportunities for crime. Many chapters are evaluations of 

initiatives to reduce specific crime and disorder problems.
• Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing: The 

1999 Herman Goldstein Award Winners. This 

document produced by the National Institute of Justice 

in collaboration with the Office of Community Oriented 

Policing Services and the Police Executive Research Forum 

provides detailed reports of the best submissions to the 

annual award program that recognizes exemplary problemoriented responses to various community problems. A 

similar publication is available for the award winners from 

subsequent years. The documents are also available at 

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij.

• Not Rocket Science? Problem-Solving and Crime 

Reduction, by Tim Read and Nick Tilley (Home Office 

Crime Reduction Research Series, 2000). Identifies and 

describes the factors that make problem-solving effective 

or ineffective as it is being practiced in police forces in 

England and Wales.

• Opportunity Makes the Thief: Practical Theory 

for Crime Prevention, by Marcus Felson and Ronald V. 

Clarke (Home Office Police Research Series, Paper No. 98, 

1998). Explains how crime theories such as routine activity 

theory, rational choice theory and crime pattern theory 

have practical implications for the police in their efforts to 

prevent crime.

• Problem Analysis in Policing, by Rachel Boba (Police 

Foundation, 2003). Introduces and defines problem 

analysis and provides guidance on how problem analysis 

can be integrated and institutionalized into modern 

policing practices.

82 Child Pornography on the Internet
Recommended Readings 83

• Problem-Oriented Policing, by Herman Goldstein 

(McGraw-Hill, 1990, and Temple University Press, 1990). 

Explains the principles and methods of problem-oriented 

policing, provides examples of it in practice, and discusses 

how a police agency can implement the concept.

• Problem-Oriented Policing and Crime Prevention, 

by Anthony A. Braga (Criminal Justice Press, 2003). 

Provides a thorough review of significant policing research 

about problem places, high-activity offenders, and repeat 

victims, with a focus on the applicability of those findings 

to problem-oriented policing. Explains how police 

departments can facilitate problem-oriented policing by 

improving crime analysis, measuring performance, and 

securing productive partnerships.

• Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the 

First 20 Years, by Michael S. Scott (U.S. Department of 

Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 

2000). Describes how the most critical elements of 

Herman Goldstein's problem-oriented policing model have 

developed in practice over its 20-year history, and proposes 

future directions for problem-oriented policing. The report 

is also available at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

• Problem-Solving: Problem-Oriented Policing in 

Newport News, by John E. Eck and William Spelman 

(Police Executive Research Forum, 1987). Explains the 

rationale behind problem-oriented policing and the 

problem-solving process, and provides examples of 

effective problem-solving in one agency.

83
• Problem-Solving Tips: A Guide to Reducing 

Crime and Disorder Through Problem-Solving 

Partnerships by Karin Schmerler, Matt Perkins, Scott 

Phillips, Tammy Rinehart and Meg Townsend. (U.S. 

Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented 

Policing Services, 1998) (also available at www.cops.usdoj.

gov). Provides a brief introduction to problem-solving, 

basic information on the SARA model and detailed 

suggestions about the problem-solving process.

• Situational Crime Prevention: Successful Case 

Studies, Second Edition, edited by Ronald V. Clarke 

(Harrow and Heston, 1997). Explains the principles and 

methods of situational crime prevention, and presents over 

20 case studies of effective crime prevention initiatives.

• Tackling Crime and Other Public-Safety Problems: 

Case Studies in Problem-Solving, by Rana Sampson 

and Michael S. Scott (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services, 2000) (also available 

at www.cops.usdoj.gov). Presents case studies of effective 

police problem-solving on 18 types of crime and disorder 

problems.

• Using Analysis for Problem-Solving: A Guidebook 

for Law Enforcement, by Timothy S. Bynum (U.S. 

Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented 

Policing Services, 2001). Provides an introduction for 

police to analyzing problems within the context of 

problem-oriented policing.

• Using Research: A Primer for Law Enforcement 

Managers, Second Edition, by John E. Eck and Nancy G. 

LaVigne (Police Executive Research Forum, 1994). Explains 

many of the basics of research as it applies to police 

management and problem-solving.

84 Child Pornography on the Internet
 Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 85

Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police

Problem-Specific Guides series:

1. Assaults in and Around Bars. Michael S. Scott. 2001. 

ISBN: 1-932582-00-2

2. Street Prostitution. Michael S. Scott. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-01-0

3. Speeding in Residential Areas. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

ISBN: 1-932582-02-9

4. Drug Dealing in Privately Owned Apartment Complexes. 

Rana Sampson. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-03-7

5. False Burglar Alarms. Rana Sampson. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-04-5

6. Disorderly Youth in Public Places. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

ISBN: 1-932582-05-3

7. Loud Car Stereos. Michael S. Scott. 2001. ISBN: 1-932582-06-1

8. Robbery at Automated Teller Machines. Michael S. Scott. 2001.

ISBN: 1-932582-07-X

9. Graffiti. Deborah Lamm Weisel. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-08-8

10. Thefts of and From Cars in Parking Facilities. Ronald V. 

Clarke. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-09-6

11. Shoplifting. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-10-X

12. Bullying in Schools. Rana Sampson. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-11-8

13. Panhandling. Michael S. Scott. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-12-6

14. Rave Parties. Michael S. Scott. 2002. ISBN: 1-932582-13-4

15. Burglary of Retail Establishments. Ronald V. Clarke. 2002. 

ISBN: 1-932582-14-2

16. Clandestine Drug Labs. Michael S. Scott. 2002.

ISBN: 1-932582-15-0

17. Acquaintance Rape of College Students. Rana Sampson. 2002.

ISBN: 1-932582-16-9

18. Burglary of Single-Family Houses. Deborah Lamm Weisel. 

2002. ISBN: 1-932582-17-7

19. Misuse and Abuse of 911. Rana Sampson. 2002.

ISBN: 1-932582-18-5

20. Financial Crimes Against the Elderly.

Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2003. ISBN: 1-932582-22-3
21. Check and Card Fraud. Graeme R. Newman. 2003. 

ISBN: 1-932582-27-4

22. Stalking. The National Center for Victims of Crime. 2004.

ISBN: 1-932582-30-4

23. Gun Violence Among Serious Young Offenders. Anthony A. 

Braga. 2004. ISBN: 1-932582-31-2

24. Prescription Fraud. Julie Wartell and Nancy G. La Vigne. 2004.

ISBN: 1-932582-33-9

25. Identity Theft. Graeme R. Newman. 2004 ISBN: 1-932582-35-3

26. Crimes Against Tourists. Ronald W. Glesnor and Kenneth J. Peak. 

2004 ISBN: 1-932582-36-3

27. Underage Drinking. Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2004 ISBN: 1-932582-39-8

28. Street Racing. Kenneth J. Peak and Ronald W. Glensor. 2004. 

ISBN: 1-932582-42-8

29. Cruising. Kenneth J. Peak and Ronald W. Glensor. 2004. 

ISBN: 1-932582-43-6

30. Disorder at Budget Motels. Karin Schmerler. 2005. 

ISBN: 1-932582-41-X

31. Drug Dealing in Open-Air Markets. Alex Harocopos and Mike 

Hough. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-45-2

32. Bomb Threats in Schools. Graeme R. Newman. 2005. 

ISBN: 1-932582-46-0

33. Illicit Sexual Activity in Public Places. Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2005. 

ISBN: 1-932582-47-9

34. Robbery of Taxi Drivers. Martha J. Smith. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-50-9

35. School Vandalism and Break-Ins. Kelly Dedel Johnson. 2005. 

ISBN: 1-9325802-51-7

36. Drunk Driving. Michael S. Scott, Nina J. Emerson, Louis B. 

Antonacci, and Joel B. Plant. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-57-6

37. Juvenile Runaways. Kelly Dedel. 2006. ISBN: 1932582-56-8

38. The Exploitation of Trafficked Women. Graeme R. Newman. 

2006. ISBN: 1-932582-59-2

39. Student Party Riots. Tamara D. Madensen and John E. Eck. 

2006. ISBN: 1-932582-60-6

40. People with Mental Illness. Gary Cordner. 2006. 

ISBN: 1-932582-63-0

86 Child Pornography on the Internet
 Other Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 87

41. Child Pornography on the Internet. Richard Wortley 

and Stephen Smallbone. 2006. ISBN: 1-932582-65-7

Response Guides series:

• The Benefits and Consequences of Police 

Crackdowns. Michael S. Scott. 2003. ISBN: 1-932582-24-X

• Closing Streets and Alleys to Reduce Crime: Should 

You Go Down This Road? Ronald V. Clarke. 2004. 

ISBN: 1-932582-41-X

• Shifting and Sharing Responsibility for Public Safety 

Problems. Michael S. Scott and Herman Goldstein. 

2005. ISBN: 1-932582-55-X

• Video Surveillance of Public Places. Jerry Ratcliffe. 

2006 ISBN: 1-932582-58-4

Problem-Solving Tools series: 

• Assessing Responses to Problems: An Introductory 

Guide for Police Problem-Solvers. John E. Eck. 2002. 

ISBN: 1-932582-19-3

• Researching a Problem. Ronald V. Clarke and Phyllis A. 

Schultz. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-48-7

• Using Offender Interviews to Inform Police Problem 

Solving. Scott H. Decker. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-49-5

• Analyzing Repeat Victimization. Deborah Lamm 

Weisel. 2005. ISBN: 1-932582-54-1
Upcoming Problem-Oriented Guides for Police 

Problem-Specific Guides

Domestic Violence

Bank Robbery

Witness Intimidation

Drive-by Shootings

Disorder at Day Laborer Sites

Crowd Control at Stadiums and Other Entertainment Venues

Traffic Congestion Around Schools

Theft from Construction Sites of Single Family Houses

Robbery of Convenience Stores

Theft from Cars on Streets

Problem-Solving Tools

Risky Facilities

Implementing Responses to Problems

Designing a Problem Analysis System

Response Guides

Crime Prevention Publicity Campaigns

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

For more information about the Problem-Oriented Guides for 

Police series and other COPS Office publications, please call 

the COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770 or visit 

COPS Online at www.cops.usdoj.gov. 

88 Child Pornography on the Internet

For More Information:

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

1100 Vermont Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20530

To obtain details on COPS programs, call the

COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770

Visit COPS Online at the address listed below.

e04062000 May 2006

ISBN: 1-932582-65-7 

www.cops.usdoj.gov