Our addiction to criminalizing addicts

Portions of this are written based on conversations with several registrants. No one is identified, and any reference to them is stated in general terms.

By Sandy and John D . . . The latest figure for persons registered as sex offenders in the United States is over 795,000 as of August 2024. A very high percentage of offending behavior was

for what has come to be known as CSAM, child sexual abuse material. (In the federal system, it is often still called child pornography.) For the first time, the percentage of those charged within this category exceeded 50% of the total.  The latest available data from 2024 shows that the percentage of sexual abuse offenders sentenced for charges related to child pornography increased to 52.8%.​ This includes behaviors ranging from viewing something accidentally, to seeking it out, to downloading, to sharing, to collecting, to production and selling.

The problem

Regardless of where one’s behavior falls along that line, there is a criminal charge and a corresponding sentence meted out. Any behavior that molests a child is and should be a matter for the criminal justice system, but isn’t that the end of the chain? Doesn’t it start with viewing, progress to downloading, to sharing, to collecting, and then, like most addictions that need more and more to achieve the same high, move on to production? Certainly, most who view, download, even share, progress no further, but doesn’t everyone who continues start with just looking?

A solution

What if, in those early stages, we treated sex addiction as we do its peer compulsions, like alcoholism or substance use disorder, rather than a crime ? Accountability could still be satisfied with the threat of prosecution if the treatment program was not completed. Could that result in fewer progressions to the hands-on behaviors that wreak the most harm?

We cannot know for sure, but we do know this: What we do now does not stop it or help prevent it. It increases every year.

Other addictive behaviors—alcoholism, substance abuse, gambling—are known for their prominent treatment and support programs. Additionally, there are a number of sex addiction 12-step programs such as Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous and Sex Addicts Anonymous. The International Institute for Trauma and Addictions Professionals credentials a variety of addiction treatment providers, including Certified Sex Addiction Therapists, all who are trained in trauma-informed care, including the cycle of sexual abuse and effective ways of treatment that are not shame-based.

Think of it this way: What would happen if someone at age 13 turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with their trauma? They would become an addict, possibly land in prison, be released, receive compassionate treatment at a drug rehab, and be celebrated and even awarded for overcoming their obstacles. Now, what if that same person turned to pornography and sex at age 13 — just when youth are discovering their sexuality? What if their journey took them, not  from alcohol to party drugs to hard methamphetamines but rather to porn, more risque porn, and finally to illegal materials? Society treats them as monsters, restricts their movement and rights, and puts them on a public list where they will be targeted with vigilantism and shame.

Sadly, the criminal legal system has yet to embrace, or often even consider, taking a trauma-informed, addiction-recovery focused model of harm prevention.

“Safe” phones

A large percentage of those in the first stages of this progression are teenage boys. Some parents, for the purpose of limiting their children’s exposure to the internet, only allow them phones that cannot access online sites. Phones made by Gabb™ are a popular brand. Advertised as “kid-safe phones,” parents like them because they protect their children from what is “out there.”

Jennifer Weeks, Ph.D., LPC, CAADC, CMAT, CSAT-S, a certified sex addiction therapist based in Eastern Pennsylvania, writes, “You can have a phone that looks like your peers’ so you can avoid the inevitable questions that come when you pull out a flip phone.”

Ironically, the same sorts of phones, even some of the same brands, are given by probation officers to some of the registered sex offenders they monitor, and for the same reason: to prevent them from accessing the internet. Registrants with a first offense of CSAM who are on probation speak of being thankful for the restraints. Prison doesn’t treat their addictions or their compulsions. They aren’t sure they trust themselves. Putting barriers to access is one tool individuals with sex and pornography addiction can use to help prevent them from relapsing into their compulsive behaviors, but it must be accompanied by honesty, openness, and willingness to change.

Several registrants, however, familiar with the Gabb and other similar phones, have expressed a concern. It has been discovered that some of these “safe” phones allow apps to be installed that open a “keyhole” to the internet. In fact, one of the Gabb phone models includes a disclaimer and warning to parents that while their phone does not have an internet browser installed, “. . . some third-party apps contain backdoor internet access through in-app web browsers.” Probation officers handing these phones out to registrants would do well to heed the warning also.

The bigger problem

And what of the broader warning? Unless we start managing addiction to child pornography the same as other recognized addictions, with treatment and support, what do we risk?

We risk more offenders progressing through all the steps to hands-on production and significant harm. An overwhelming majority of those convicted for CSAM/child pornography are males—99.8 percent. We risk the futures of the boys and young men who will find themselves making that first illegal mouse click, making them criminals rather than addicts in treatment and recovery. We will make them registered sex offenders with all it entails: reduced expectation of meaningful employment, damaged community acceptance, destroyed social status and support, often destroyed family connections and support.

NARSOL believes that this risk is too great to take. For several decades, people with addiction problems have been living lives shaped by the criminal system. This has a negative impact not only on each individual but also on society as a whole.

We can stop that now. No; we must stop it now. Offer the option of entering a treatment program to all CSAM users who have not committed hands-on offenses. The reduction in prison costs will offset the cost of proven treatment programs.

The reduction in the number of lives lost and the benefit to society will be incalculable.

If you or someone you care about is misusing sex or pornography and you’re worried they might have a problem, you can refer them to the following resources:

• B4UACT
• StopItNow.org
• The Moore Center for Child Sexual Abuse Prevention’s Prevention.Global
• Fellow Travelers Sex Addiction Recovery for Minor Attracted Persons
• Sexual Life and Legal Consequences

Written by NARSOL

This post was written by someone, or multiple people, within NARSOL.