An Explorative Study on Perpetrators of Child Sexual Exploitation Convicted Alongside Others

The Task

As a result of the relative lack of primary research existing on the topic, TONIC was commissioned to interview individuals, who had been convicted alongside others, for child sexual exploitation.  The aims of the research intended to further the understanding of the motivations of perpetrators operating in organised networks as well as identify interventions and approaches that could prevent and disrupt these perpetrators.  

TONIC’s Approach

This project was qualitative in nature and, as such, alongside a background literature review, TONIC conducted first-hand interviews with individuals who were identified by gatekeepers as eligible to include in the project. A total of 27 individuals were interviewed across 9 prisons in England and Wales. This project was consequently the largest primary research study on this topic in the UK.  

The Outcome

TONIC produced a comprehensive report detailing the analysis and findings of the interviews that was presented to the commissioners. Using information provided by perpetrators in the interviews, TONIC identified three groups into which perpetrators could be loosely clustered according to lifestyle, motivation, sexual interest and attitude towards conviction.  Group A disclosed a long-standing sexual attraction to children. Group B was the largest group and most likely to dispute their conviction, they described living a hedonistic ‘party’ lifestyle at the time of the offence. The victims of Group B were most likely to be teenage girls. Group C presented with a high level of vulnerability and reported they had been exploited by other members of the group. 

Within the report, TONIC was also able to develop a further understanding of networks, victims and possible strategies of prevention/disruption. A key finding was that perpetrators across groups A and C described they would have benefitted from a trusted, non-judgemental professional they could speak to about inappropriate thoughts pre-offending.