What risk assessment tools can be used with men convicted of child sexual exploitation material offenses? Recommendations from a review of current research.

Objective: We aimed to review research on recidivism risk assessment tools with individuals convicted of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) offenses and make recommendations for use in forensic, correctional, and legal settings.

Hypotheses: Multiple tools would be defensible to use with individuals convicted of CSEM offenses.

Method: We discuss a minimum threshold of predictive accuracy to justify using a risk tool as an improvement on the typical level of accuracy expected from unstructured professional judgment.

Correspondence of Child Age and Gender Distribution in Child Sexual Exploitation Material and Other Child Content With Age and Gender of Child Sexual Assault Victims.

Accessing child sexual exploitation material (CSEM; in legal statutes) can indicate sexual interest in children. It logically follows then that the age and gender of the depicted children may reflect specific interests in those age/gender groups, and if so, may correspond to age and gender of any known contact offending victims. We had data on CSEM characteristics and child victims for 71 men convicted of CSEM offenses who also had contact sexual offenses against children; some had also sexually solicited children online.

Professionals' Perspectives on Viewing Child Sexual Abuse Images to Improve Response to Victims.

The complexity of the phenomenon of child sexual abuse images online (CSAIO) benefits from cross-disciplinary collaboration across law enforcement, child protection, and children's mental health. Through focus groups with professionals working in these fields, this article focuses on when and whether professionals who work with child sexual abuse cases should be exposed to viewing CSAIO and if so under what circumstances doing so would benefit investigations and support services for victims. In a broader sense, this article is about professional experience, decision making, training, and collaboration around a particularly difficult professional experience, namely exposure to viewing CSAIO.

Predictors of recidivism by stalkers: a nine-year follow-up of police contacts.

In a subsample of a multisite stalking study (Mohandie, Meloy, McGowan, & Williams, 2006) comprising 78 offenders from one site, 77% committed new offenses within an average follow-up of 106 months (8.8 years). Over half (56%) were charged for new stalking related offenses and 33% for violent recidivism.

An indepth actuarial assessment for wife assault recidivism: the Domestic Violence Risk Appraisal Guide.

An actuarial tool, the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA), predicts recidivism using only variables readily obtained by frontline police officers. Correctional settings permit more comprehensive assessments. In a subset of ODARA construction and cross-validation cases, 303 men with a police record for wife assault and a correctional system file, the VRAG, SARA, Danger Assessment, and DVSI also predicted recidivism, but the Hare Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R) best improved prediction of recidivism, occurrence, frequency, severity, injury, and charges.