New and emerging threats and responses to online CSAE offences, 4 June 2026
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Financially motivated sextortion
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Live Streaming (Long Distance Child Abuse)
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Travelling Child Sex offenders (Child Sex Tourism)
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Gaming Platforms and their increasing role in facilitating online CSAE
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Transnational Virtual Offending
Provides a unique insight into the evolution of the online CSAE threat with a focus on the current and future threats to inform operational activity and support investigations.
The workshop will provide best practice around investigatory techniques and explore the importance of linking local responses to broader national and international activity.
We’ll consider the importance of taking a victim focused approach to CSAE, particularly in crime types such as Financially Motivated Sextortion, and more broadly, the value of multi-agency approaches and the interdependencies with other cross cutting issues like safeguarding, intelligence, and sensitive tactics.
We’ll also talk about wellness and welfare of officers involved in the response to these crime types.
The workshop will be led by two of the most experienced and well-regarded investigators in CSAE – Cath Cox and Tom Farrell. They both have worked at the forefront of this work in police forces, at a UK national level, and internationally, for over a decade.
Outline of the workshop
An introduction to the current threats and challenges around CSAE offences with consideration of the following challenges:
Financially Motivated Sextortion: a look at the current threat picture, the motivation of the perpetrators and the importance of taking a victim focussed approach.
Travelling Child Sex offenders (also referred to as Child Sex Tourism) and Long Distance Child Abuse (LDCA – referred to as live streaming)
A look at the methodology of these crime types, where perpetrators travel to other parts of the world to commit contact sexual abuse or pay to remotely view and direct the abuse of children by a hands-on offender. We will explore how the proactive identification of these offenders can involve both local, national and international law enforcement agencies.
Gaming Platforms and their increasing role in facilitating online CSAE: A look at how gaming platforms are increasingly used to engage young people in CSAE offences and how law enforcement can identify and respond to this threat.
Transnational Virtual Offending: A look at this serious and extreme threat, where children are at risk of being groomed, extorted and harmed, by a network of decentralised offenders engaged in coercing children and other vulnerable individuals into committing acts of self-harm, animal abuse, and violence, including suicide and murder.
Across all these threats we will consider how our local responses are vital in uncovering these offences, safeguarding victims, and informing broader national and international thinking and consideration of these issues.
About our speakers
Catherine Cox
Catherine Cox was a police officer for 15 years, leaving in March 2024 as a Detective Chief Inspector to transition to the third sector to work in child protection. She is an experienced leader in complex child protection and child abuse investigations (online and contact child sexual abuse and exploitation CSAE), with a record of influencing national policy, developing new investigative approaches, and embedding safeguarding at force and national levels.
She has worked towards standardised national best practice in staff wellbeing and prevention measures; and support for children and families of offenders. She has contributed to development and delivery of the UK’s CSE Taskforce, including officer training and specialisation; and is now working internationally on officer wellbeing and retention.
Tom Farrell, QPM
Tom Farrell QPM is an independent online safety and technology consultant, working extensively in the fight against Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation.
Tom served as a police officer for 20 years, working extensively within covert intelligence roles investigating serious and organised crime. He then specialised in online child sexual abuse and exploitation and became a subject matter expert in investigating online crimes, particularly identifying high harm offenders. In this role, he spent several years seconded to the UK Government working to provide law enforcement worldwide with cutting edge technology and guidance.
In 2020 Tom was awarded the Queens Police Medal for his development of innovative techniques to identify thousands of previously anonymous high harm offenders. This award recognised Tom’s unique ability to work collaboratively with technical experts and industry partners to ensure that the solutions created were suitable for law enforcement requirements.
HOW TO BOOK
Cost: £209 + VAT (GBP) per delegate per workshop (LEA and Government Agency rate). £249.50 + VAT (Industry rate), per delegate
Group bookings: We offer various discounts for group bookings depending on numbers, please contact us for details.
Booking: Please send the delegates name(s), email address(es) and purchase order (made out to The Investigator) to booking@the-investigator.co.uk or telephone +44(0)844 660 8707 for further information.
Payment can be made by PayPal/debit/credit card. The meeting link will be sent out 7 days before the event.