Miss Lycette de Souza1, Associate Professor Caleb Llyod3, Dr Erika Fortunato1, Dr Matt Frize1
1Forensic Disability, Department of Families, Fairness & Housing, Fairfield, Australia, 2Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia, 3Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia
Biography:
Lycette is a Psychoeducational Trainer in the Forensic Disability Clinical Service team of the Forensic Disability Service (Victoria’s Dept. of Families, Fairness and Housing), with responsibilities in treatment provision for clients living at a secure residential treatment facility. Lycette is currently pursuing her Master of Clinical Psychology at Swinburne University. Her thesis focuses on developing a tool to assess cognitive distortions in online sexual offenders that have a cognitive impairment. Lycette has also been developing a program focused on fostering healthy online sexual behaviours. In 2025, Lycette was awarded Excellence in Client Practice at the Forensic Disability Service Awards.
Abstract:
With the advent of the internet, more surreptitious means of sexual offending have proliferated. Recent research indicates that internet-specific cognitive distortions are present among individuals who use the internet to engage in online child sexual solicitation and child sexual exploitation material distribution, consumption, and production. Although some existing tools draw upon these online-specific frameworks to understand which cognitions maintain these harmful sexual behaviours, they were not developed with applicability for individuals with cognitive impairment in mind. Despite individuals with cognitive impairment being overrepresented in the total population of people who sexually offend, there is a distinct scarcity of literature exploring their offence supportive cognitions, particularly in relation to online child sexual offending. This is concerning given that this cohort may present with greater risk and distinct online distortions manifesting from increased difficulties with understanding the nuances of consent, reduced sexual knowledge, reduced opportunities for sexual experiences, and increased impulsivity, in comparison to their neurotypical counterparts. The Cognitive Online Distortions Inventory (CODI) will attempt to address this gap in the literature by being developed specifically for use in individuals with intellectual disability who sexually offend against children online. This presentation will outline the ongoing development and validation of the CODI being undertaken in collaboration between Forensic Disability Services (Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, Victoria) and Swinburne University of Technology.