Criminological profile of individuals committing sexual offences against minors: comparative legal analysis of the legislation of Kazakhstan, Russia and Germany

Sexual offences against minors are characterized by high levels of underreporting and a pronounced interdisciplinary dimension, as they intersect criminal-law prohibitions, social risk factors, and offender-specific behavioral dynamics. This study seeks to construct a criminological profile of individuals who commit sexual offences against minors and to examine how differences in legal regulation across Kazakhstan, Russia, and Germany influence prevention, detection, and post-release risk management. The paper comparatively analyzes (i) age-based protection thresholds and offence structures, (ii) special legal mechanisms such as supervision, treatment, and transparency measures, and (iii) the regulation of online contexts, including grooming-related conduct, content-based influence, and technology-facilitated abuse. Methodologically, the research combines comparative legal and doctrinal analysis with a functional assessment of supervision and treatment regimes, as well as a synthesis of recent peer-reviewed evidence on cybergrooming strategies and recidivism patterns among online child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) offenders. The findings reveal convergence in recognizing digital environments as significant criminogenic factors, alongside divergence in age constructions and in the extent to which medical and supervisory measures are embedded within criminal-law frameworks. Practical implications include risk-oriented prevention and differentiated assessment strategies reflecting offender heterogeneity.

1. Deutscher Bundestag. Drucksache 21/2370: Antwort der Bundesregierung auf die Kleine Anfrage «Sexualdelikte gegen Kinder – Gesetzeslage, Statistik und internationale Ermittlungsstrukturen». URL: https://dserver.bundestag.de/btd/21/023/2102370.pdf (accessed: 24.01.2026 (In German).

2. Ugolovnyj kodeks Respubliki Kazahstan ot 3 ijulja 2014 goda No. 226-V ZRK. URL: https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/K1400000226 (data obrashhenija: 24.01.2026) (In Russian).

3. Prikaz Ministra zdravoohranenija Respubliki Kazahstan ot 1 oktjabrja 2025 goda No. 102 «O vnesenii izmenenij v prikaz Ministra zdravoohranenija Respubliki Kazahstan ot 15 dekabrja 2020 goda No. ҚR DSM262/2020 «Ob utverzhdenii pravil primenenija prinuditel’noj mery medicinskogo haraktera». URL: https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/V2500037010 (data obrashhenija: 24.01.2026) (In Russian).

4. Ugolovnyj kodeks Rossijskoj Federacii: Federal’nyj zakon ot 13 ijunja 1996 g. No. 63-FZ (s izm. i dop.). URL: http://pravo.gov.ru/ (data obrashhenija: 24.01.2026). (In Russian).

5. Ob administrativnom nadzore za licami, osvobozhdennymi iz mest lishenija svobody: Federal’nyj zakon Rossijskoj Federacii ot 6 aprelja 2011 g. No. 64-FZ (s izm. i dop.). URL: http://pravo.gov.ru/ (data obrashhenija: 24.01.2026). (In Russian).

6. Strafgesetzbuch (StGB) (1871). Strafgesetzbuch vom 15. Mai 1871. URL: https://www.gesetze-iminternet.de/stgb/ (accessed: 24.01.2026). (In German).

7. Clark A., Coles C., Lankester M., Fernandes D., Blackwood N., Cavenham J., Dickson H. (2025) Recidivism rates among online child sexual exploitation material offenders: systematic review and metaanalyses. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology. DOI: 10.1080/14789949.2025.2603236. (In English).

8. Moosburner M., Weber C., Kuban T., Wachs S., Schmidt A. F., Etzler S., Rettenberger M. (2025) Understanding Cybergrooming: A Systematic Review of Perpetrator Characteristics, Strategies, and Types. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. DOI: 10.1177/15248380251316223. (In English).

9. Hörnle T., Tetal C., Wössner G. (2024). Reoffending after convictions related to child sexual exploitation material: Data from the German Federal Central Criminal Register. Child Abuse & Neglect, 153, 106806. DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106806. (In English).

10. Clark A., Coles C., Lankester M., Fernandes D., Blackwood N., Cavenham J., Dickson H. (2025). Recidivism rates among online child sexual exploitation material offenders: systematic review and metaanalyses. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology. DOI: 10.1080/14789949.2025.2603236. (In English).