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There are limited risk assessment tools validated for use with the internet child abuse material (I/CAM) offender cohort. Developed through a multi-stage process, the purpose of this paper is to present the “Estimated Risk for Internet Child Sexual Offending” (ERICSO), a new tool for I/CAM offender assessment, including demographic, collection, nature of engagement and social domains, plus a structured professional judgement section. Validation studies remain ongoing.

This paper presents a case series analysis of six Australian men, including two Aboriginal men, convicted of I/CAM offences to pilot proposed ERICSO domains and commence validation against the short self-esteem scale, University of California Los Angles loneliness scale, internet sex screening test and the sexual violence risk-20 V2.

Participants of all ages generally reported histories of mental health diagnosis and/or treatment and substance abuse. Two participants reported prior sexual offending, one for I/CAM offences. Participants expressed sexual preferences for female child victims and were convicted of possessing thousands of I/CAM files. Two participants reported accessing I/CAM for over six and 10 years, respectively, before detection by law enforcement.

Preliminary implications indicate ERICSO higher scores are consistent with I/CAM offenders having more online sexual behaviour diversity and more areas of risk/treatment need. For example, participants with problematic self-esteem and loneliness in our data set have higher ERICSO scores. Social connectedness may be a relevant factor though definitive conclusions cannot be drawn from the small sample size.

The ERICSO presents novel assessment of factors in considering treatment targets in addressing both illegal I/CAM and problematic legal sexual behaviours.

There are a limited number of risk assessment tools relevant to the internet child abuse material (I/CAM) offender cohort. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new tool, the “Estimated Risk for Internet Child Sexual Offending” (ERICSO). The ERICSO has been developed to assist in the treatment and prevention of sexual crimes against children.

The ERICSO was developed through a multi-stage process including systematic review, survey of professionals and offender case study.

An empirically guided tool for estimating risk for I/CAM offenders, the ERICSO is composed of four domains. The Demographic domain questions provide information about the offender, while Collection domain questions address the content of the offender’s files. The Nature of Engagement domain considers the offender’s interaction with I/CAM, behavioural aspects and contact with children. The Social Aspect domain questions address the offender’s engagement with other I/CAM users. Finally, the assessor may use Structured Professional Judgement to provide additional information, and a summary of the offender’s relevant circumstances and a risk estimation.

The ERICSO provides guidance for the assessment of I/CAM offenders who may reoffend with online child sexual offences, and I/CAM offenders who may reoffend with contact child sexual offences.

Born from a history of generational attitudes towards rehabilitation and risk assessment, the launch of the ERICSO presents an exciting opportunity in the risk estimation of I/CAM offenders.

Internet child abuse material (I/CAM) offences negatively affect children in our own communities and in the wider virtual world. This study aims to understand the differentiation between online (internet) and offline (contact) offenders. The development of the Estimated Risk for Internet Child Sexual Offending (ERICSO), a proposed instrument for I/CAM offenders, incorporated a case study component to test on a known offender before the tool is applied to a wider sample.

The case study approach provides a unique opportunity for researchers to consider reflections from an I/CAM offender. These insights provide unique perspectives on areas for further exploration, including suggestions for consideration in the assessment and treatment of I/CAM offenders.

Mr A is a male convicted of possessing I/CAM with previous convictions for contact child sexual offending. During the development of the ERICSO, Mr A provided commentary on proposed questions based on his experiences as an offender and his communications with other offenders. Mr A’s feedback was generally consistent with current research findings, with notable suggestions in recognising the importance of differentiating between fantasy/reality, violence/voyeurism and the role technology plays in I/CAM offences. These reflections will be considered in conjunction with ongoing development and validity studies of the ERICSO to contribute to the targeted assessment and risk-relevant treatment for I/CAM offenders.

The use of a case study in the development of a proposed assessment instrument provides a unique perspective to improve ecological validity.