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ICAC commander: CSAM images reflect real abuse and can desensitize and escalate viewer behavior
Summary
Sete Aule told "Legally Speaking" that CSAM generally reflects real abuse of children and can desensitize consumers, increasing demand and sometimes leading viewers to commit contact offenses; he said reversing that progression is difficult.
Sete Aule challenged the notion that images or videos of children online are "just pictures," calling that idea "the farthest thing from the truth." He said the files investigators recover typically reflect real abuse and that the abuse likely occurred before or after the recording: "Those are real children on there being raped, being sodomized," Aule said.
Aule described the real-world harms for children whose images are circulated and emphasized law-enforcement education on the point: the files are not abstract images but evidence of exploitation that has occurred.
He also described harm to viewers, saying consumption can desensitize people and increase demand for more extreme material. "They're becoming more desensitized to what they're viewing," Aule said, and added that in many investigations he sees a progression similar to addiction: individuals may start with legal adult pornography, become desensitized, and then move on to CSAM.
On treatment and reversal, Aule told the host he does not know of a reliable way to "undo" that progression for many offenders, and he described the difficulty law enforcement and clinicians face when trying to change entrenched behavior.
Aule framed these points as both a rationale for vigorous enforcement and an argument for public education and prevention.
