Abstract: Internet sex offenders: Reviewing Research Findings and Their Implications for Policy and Practice

Although they remain a small proportion of identified sex offenders, there is increasing concern about how to manage, assess, and treat internet sex offenders. Relatedly, there has been an influx of research on internet sex offenders with new findings reported almost every month. This workshop will review recent findings on internet sex offenders, with a focus on the similarities and differences of internet sex offenders from hands-on offenders, and differences among internet sex offenders. The majority of the workshop will be spent reviewing the findings of an updated meta-analysis comparing internet sex offenders to hands-on sex offenders. This workshop will conclude by reviewing findings relevant for the assessment and treatment of internet sex offenders.

Kelly Babchishin is a graduate student at Carleton University and works at the Correctional Research Branch of Public Safety Canada. Kelly Babchishin has received the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers Pre-doctoral Research Grant and is a recipient of the Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship. Her research interests include online sexual offending, measures of sexual deviancy, and risk assessment. Her doctoral dissertation involves evaluating change in acute risk factors of sex offenders.