The Dynamics of Internet Sexual Solicitation: Examining the Criminal Careers of Online Groomers

The criminal career approach has been widely employed in the context of sexual delinquency, contributing significantly to our understanding of the criminal activities of sex offenders. To date, no studies have examined the criminal trajectories of online groomers within the framework of a criminal career analysis. To address this gap, the primary objective of this paper is to analyze this group's criminal trajectories to expand our knowledge on participation, frequency, duration, seriousness, and versatility. To achieve this, an LPA was thus conducted using a sample of 1201 online groomers. The results support the existence of multiple distinct trajectories followed by individuals who engage in online sexual solicitation of minors, revealing the presence of four distinctive profiles: one-timer groomers, versatile and late groomers, specialist sex offender groomers, and polymorphous and prolific groomers. The profiles differ based on the number and types of offenses committed, the duration of their criminal involvement, and the diversity of their criminal activities.