The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) classifies people who collect child and adolescent pornography into different groups based on the nature of the practice.
Inclusion criteria: A pornography collector is anyone who collects, maintains and desires pornographic material. Some collectors are primarily interested in pornography involving children or young adolescents.
Exclusion criteria: Production of child pornographic materials for economic profit. If any is produced it is used personally or shared with others within a network.
Types:
(1) closet collector
(2) isolated collector
(3) cottage collector
|
Feature |
Closet |
Isolated |
Cottage |
|
number of people aware of behavior |
none or rare; very secretive |
rare to few |
few to several |
|
source of material |
primarily from commercial sources; does not produce any material |
some personal material produced |
material produced by self and sharing with others in network |
|
number of children directly involved at one time |
none |
limited (1 or 2) |
often a group |
|
networking with other pedophiles |
none or indirect |
limited |
may be extensive |
|
defense mechanism |
not directly harming anyone; feels that having sex with a child by an adult is wrong |
not physically harming the child; personally cares for the child; child enjoys the contact; denies any coercion despite documented evidence |
cares for children more than parents do; parents and children must think it is OK since not objecting; denies any coercion despite documented evidence |
where:
• The term "closet" has been used for other secretive behaviors. In the case of a collector this may actually involve hiding the material in a closet.
• I have been unable to determine where "cottage" comes from. Perhaps it indicates a cottage industry.
Specialty: Clinical Laboratory, Emergency Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pedatrics
