CANTON – Two SUNY Canton researchers have highlighted how technology is challenging traditional definitions of sexual predators and have identified where policy may not have kept up with modern online interactions. 

In September, Associate Professor Michelle Johnston, Ph.D., and Associate Professor Charles Robinson, J.D., won the C. Edward Shaffer Award for Best Research Presentation for their study "Online Predation: Legal and Scholarly Gaps in Classifying Cyber Sexual Offenders" at the 2026 Society for Police and Criminal Psychology Annual Conference in Atlanta, Ga. Johnston is the lead faculty member in the college's Forensic Criminology program and Robinson teaches in the Criminal Justice program. 

Their research looks at how the law handles people who commit sexual offenses online without physical contact. The study compares legal decisions with existing research to identify possible gaps. It focuses on the risk, danger and harm connected to these offenses and asks whether current laws adequately address cases involving the online exploitation of minors.

"We are very gratified to be recognized for research that we consider to be an understudied and emerging area of criminological inquiry," Johnston said. "We expect that this topic will have further real-world application for criminal justice policy and legal practice in the future." 

Using legal opinions from cases related to exploitation, the presentation challenges the established notion that perpetrators must meet their victims face-to-face in an increasingly digital age. 

"Based on comments I received from attendees at the conference, what impressed these other clinicians and researchers was combining content analysis research and doctrinal legal research as a mixed-methods framework to study the real-world impact of technology advancements as instruments for cyber sexual crimes against minors," Robinson said. 

Both faculty members have previously conducted research and presented nationally, and this project was their first joint project. 

School of Science Health and Criminal Justice Dean Michele Snyder noted that the presentation addresses difficult questions and identifies areas where law enforcement and advocates can develop new perspectives on the complex issue. "Our faculty members' work in this area is especially important as technology continues to create new challenges for society," Snyder said. 

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