Criminological Differences between Victims of Contact and Noncontact Child Sexual Exploitation Grooming Offenses in Spain

• In Event: Cybercrime Working Group - Victimization & Resilience 1

Abstract

Our primary goal was to analyze the criminological differences between victims of contact and noncontact-driven child sexual exploitation suspects investigated for grooming offenses by law enforcement agencies in Spain.

295 cases (i.e., unique chatlogs between an offender and minor) were extracted from 98 police reports provided by the Guardia Civil and Policía Nacional. For inclusion in the current study, the case needed to include an online child sexual grooming offense according to the Spanish Criminal Code, Article 183; an offender-victim chatlog; and a law enforcement report to code the criminological variables of interest (e.g., victim characteristics, high-risk behaviors).

257 cases met these criteria resulting in 234 unique victims for statistical analysis. Most victims were female (64.5%), Spanish (90.6%), and their ages ranged from 7 to 17 (M = 13.17).

We found significant differences between victims of contact-driven suspects (n = 99) and victims of noncontact-driven suspects (n = 135). Victims of contact-driven suspects were more likely to be male whereas victims of noncontact suspects were more likely to be female (ɸ = .52). Victims of noncontact suspects were also significantly younger (r = .26). There was a marginally significant difference in victim location, indicating that victims of contact-driven suspects were more likely to be in Spain (ɸ = .13).

When analyzing high-risk behaviors that made the victims more vulnerable to exploitation, victims of contact-driven suspects were more likely to offer something in exchange for sex or sexually explicit images (ɸ = .18). The most common high-risk behavior occurred when victims initiated requests for sexts from the suspects.

These high-risk behaviors, whether engaged in voluntarily or influenced by manipulation, occurred within an abusive context marked by a power imbalance. Our findings provide valuable insights into the characteristics and high-risk behaviors of victims groomed by contact and noncontact-driven suspects in Spain.

Authors

• Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar, Purdue University

• Virginia Soldino, Universitat de València