Jonathan Allan Clough

Looking Beyond the Screen: A Critical Review of the Literature on the Online Child Pornography Offender.

This article reviews the current literature pertaining to those who engage in child pornography offending. The basic characteristics of online child pornography offenders (CPOs) and related typologies are briefly presented prior to reviewing the comparative literature pertaining to CPOs and child contact sexual offenders. In general, CPOs have been found to be relatively high functioning and generally pro-social individuals with less extensive and diverse offending histories than contact offenders. CPOs also display high levels of sexual pre-occupation, deviant sexual interests, and deficits in interpersonal and affective domains that surpass those of contact offenders. Although further research is required to replicate and clarify preliminary findings, the available evidence indicates that existing sexual offender risk assessment tools and treatment programs are not suitable for use with CPOs, and thus require revision and empirical evaluation prior to widespread use among this population. The article concludes with implications for clinical practice and directions for future research.

Not-so-innocents abroad: corporate criminal liability for human rights abuses

This article seeks to demonstrate the role that domestic criminal law could play in the regulation of transnational corporations for human rights abuses committed outside their jurisdiction of incorporation. It begins by summarising the US case of Doe I V Unocal Corporation (Doe v Unocal) as illustrative of some of the key issues that arise in cases of this kind. This is followed by a brief summary of the current approaches to regulating the conduct of transnational corporations, before discussing the suggested advantages of domestic criminal liability. The mechanics of corporate criminal liability are then addressed, with particular emphasis on the ways in which liability may be imposed for the conduct of subsidiaries and other independent entities. Principles of extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction are then discussed, along with the importance of international agreement. In conclusion, it is suggested that there is no legal impediment to the enactment of such legislation. The obstacle to reform is therefore not legal, but political.

Demographic, mental health, and offending characteristics of online child exploitation material offenders: A comparison with contact-only and dual sexual offenders

Technological advances have dramatically increased the ability to access, distribute and produce child exploitation material (CEM) online, resulting in increased numbers of individuals being charged with CEM offences. This study examined the demographic, mental health, and offending characteristics of CEM offenders (n = 456) in comparison to child contact sexual offenders (n = 493) and offenders with a history of both CEM and contact offences (dual offenders, n = 256). A robust data linkage methodology was employed to link records from statewide corrections services with policing and mental health records in Victoria, Australia. The results indicated that CEM offenders differed from both contact and dual offenders, and that the groups were primarily differentiated based on two factors: antisocial orientation and sexual deviance. CEM offenders demonstrated high rates of sexual deviance but low rates of antisociality, contact offenders exhibited the opposite pattern, and dual offenders had both high sexual deviance and antisociality. The findings suggest that existing sexual offender assessment and treatment frameworks are unlikely to be suitable for exclusive CEM offenders. The implications for future research are discussed.