7 - Sexual Offending

skinners

sexual offenders label in prison, targets of extraodinary persecution

there is __ single profile type of sexual offenders

no

variables of sexual offender profiles

1. victim type

2. level of planning

3. degree of aggression/coercion

4. nature of act

instrumental aggression

just enough to gain compliance or overcome resistance, not intended to harm

expressive degree of aggression/coercion

using violence/force because they get pleasure out of it, sadistic

sexual assault level 1

assault committed in circumstances of a sexual nature such that the sexual integrity of the victim is violated. Minor physical injuries or no injuries to victim

sexual assault level 2

sexual assault with weapon, threats, or causing bodily harm

aggravated sexual assault (level 3)

sexual assault that results in wounding, maiming, disfiguring or endangering the life of the victim

paraphilic disorders

sustained erotic interests that are not criminal of themselves, but may predispose one to act illegally

exhibitionism

showing one’s genitals without invitation and in a surprising way

voyeurism

looking at someone without their knowledge and consent

frotteurism

rubbing up against someone

toucherism

groping, may be subtle

pedophilia

sexual interest in children

transvestic fetishism

wearing women’s underwear

only criminal if stealing, but often with rape

sexual masochism

being harmed or humiliated yourself

sexual sadism

inflicting harm or humiliation onto someone else

fetishism

object of worship that is not a body part

partialism

attraction to a non sexual organ

are fetishes criminal?

no, but may result in theft or obscenity charges

characteristics of sexual offenders

• adolescent males (majority do NOT reoffend)

• intact homes

• average students

• free of other Axis I mental illness

etiology of fetishes

• poorly understood

  • many subtypes and high variability make broad etiological statements difficult

  • likely involves confluence of learning

• porn no more used by rapists

incidence and prevalence plagued by ________

underreporting, due to shame/guilt or fear of repeat violence

is the sexual offender a specialist? (Weinrott and Saylor)

no, typically committed non-sexual offences as well

incest offenders

are the least antisocial, have fewer stranger victims, and decrease in general criminality

in what ways do sexual offenders resemble non-sex offenders?

1. antisocial supports

2. criminal histories

3. antisocial personality

4. cognition supporting the deviant act

what antisocial supports do sexual offenders have

tend to know others that share their particular deviant interests

• some through formal sponsors such as NAMBLA

four subtypes of rape

1. date rape

2. forcible rape

3. statutory rape

4. rape by fraud

date rape / acquaintance rape

against an acquaintance, usually not intimate but under courtship conditions

• very prevalent

• greater tendency for victim to feel responsible

• strong sense of entitlement

• US prosecutor unlikely to proceed without vaginal penetration, etc.

date rape drugs

can be street drugs / alcohol that impair judgement, lower victim resistance, and increase perpetrator aggression

• rohypnal: strong CNS depressant, diminished msucle control, anterograde amnesia

  • lethal in combo with alochol

• ketamine: vet tranquilizer, hallucinatory effects, impairs judgement and coordination, up to 24 hours

rape is on the ______, but sexual assaults peaked in 2021

decline

pandemic effects on rape

• 9% lower than 2019

• likely significant underestimation

• large number probably by family members

who are the victims?

majority (32%) are 11-17, then 29% is <11, due to vulnerability of victim

rape offender characteristics

• tend to be young (80% under 30)

• lots of social conflict (82% have criminal record)

• ¼ SA victim themselves

• blue collar or unemployed

why do people rape?

1. uncontrollable impulse (but doesn’t fit with 2/3 of planned rapes)

2. mental illness (widely held lay person view)

3. drug induced

4. victim provoked (old view, no support, just world hypothesis)

just world hypothesis

belief that good things happen to good people and vice versa

women more likely to engage in this, it won’t happen to me because I am good

• protective way of thinking

more recent theories of why people rape & criticisms

• distorted thoughts/beliefs/attitudes

  • criticism: explanations may not be cohesive when applied to various offenders

• schemata

  • criticism: definitional inconsistencies fails to generate predictions

schemata

ways of making sense of the world

• cognitive structures

• useful in “filtering” social information

• greatly influence interpretation of events

rapist classifications

1. displaced aggression

2. compensatory rape

3. sexually sadistic/aggressive

4. impulsive

displaced aggression (rapist classification)

• not about sex but displacing anger

• lots of brutality

• most likely perpetrated by stranger

• attempts made to humiliate and demean victim

• highly negative attitudes towards females in general

• not always focused on genitalia

• anger and violent evident in other aspects of life

• chaotic upbringing

compensatory rape (rapist classification)

• highly aroused during offense, it IS sexual for them

• meek, wimpy, compensate for social ineptitude

• arousal and fantasies related to specific themes

• not sadistic or use of violence

• believe victims will admire them and submit

• study/stalk their victims

• thoughts of rejection unbearable

• flee in face of sufficient resistance

• least likely record of other criminal activities

• limited aspirations, low self esteem

• others are surprised to hear they are rapist

sadistic (rapist classification)

• aggression and sexual arousal hand in hand

• non-aggressive sexual contact unfulfilling

• acutely tuned to pain and suffering, without no arousal

• think victim is playing hard to get

• often married

• limited self-control and frustration tolerance

• most likely to murder or seriously injure

impulsive (rapist classification)

• generalist, often off-shoot of another crime

• doesn’t care about victim, property to be taken

displaced (cognitive terms)

negative schema towards women

• processing biased toward misogynistic attitudes

• rage towards women

• not paraphilic in sense of “preferring” rape

compensatory (cognitive terms)

distorted theories about relationships

• emotionally isolated

• fantasizes about non-sadistic rape

• distorted processing of interpersonal behaviour

• negative self-schema

sexually sadistic (cognitive terms)

detached affect and self-focused

• depersonalizes victims

• very tuned to indications of pain and powerlessness (aroused)

• truly paraphilic

opportunistic / impulsive (cognitive terms)

cognitive deconstruction

• schemata are self-centered

• able to separate act from usual view self

• avoids negative self-evaluation

• not truly paraphilic

MTC:R3 has a total of _____ categories, adding _____ _____

nine

vindictive rapists

vindictive rapists

rape to punish the victim or someone close to the victim

only subtype added to MTC:R3

Groth’s rapist typologies

based on motives

rape is pseudo-sexual in all cases

1. power rape

2. anger rape

3. sadistic rape

power rape (Groth)

>50%

• conquest and control

• hopes victim will become sexually aroused herself

• will increase use of force if needed to subdue

anger rape (Groth)

40%

• excessive force and brutality

• swears and yells at victim

• may see sex as dirty

• issues with mother, grandmother, female boss

sadistic rape (Groth)

5%

• aroused by victims pain, helplessness, and suffering

• bondage and torture

• most likely to murder

etiology of rape

1. social roles

2. immaturity (inadequate social and dating skills)

3. generalized sadism

4. associative condition (pairing of sexual orgasm with deviant images)

role of pornography’s correlation with collateral measures of aggression

1. viewers level of sexual arousal

2. level of aggression depicted

3. reactions of victim depicted

pedophilia

sustained erotic interest in prepubescent or pubescent children

• not illegal unless acted upon

• exclusive or inclusive

• intercourse rare, usually fondling and oral-genital contact

• offenders tend to know the victim well

• violence rare, 10-15% cases

exclusive pedophilia

kids only

inclusive pedophilia

adults and kids

_____% of US males will sexually victimize a child at some point

5-10

often when they are young themselves, most are not repeat offenders

pedophile offender characteristics

• almost exclusively male

• no single profile, but resemble rapists

• efforts to deny/minimize responsibility are common

• average age of apprehension late 30s

classification of pedophiles

1. fixed type

2. regressed type

3. exploitative

4. sadistic

fixated type (pedophile classification)

• socially immature

• limited legitimate sexual/romantic history

• neither wants nor expects intercourse

• begins with grooming

• seeks children for social and sexual purposes

regressed type (pedophile classification)

• begins with normal adolescence, begins to doubt masculinity shortly thereafter

• may offend in response to marked stressors or personal assault

• alcohol often an issue

exploitative (pedophile classification)

• more likely stranger

• isolate the child

• trickery to lure child

• poor social skills, rejected by other adults

• poor treatment candidate

sadistic (pedophile classification)

• more likely homosexual

• offenders arousal closely tied to pain and suffering of victim

• abduct and murder

• John Wayne Gacy

______ are half as likely to reoffend than those who offend against other males

heteropedos

pedophilia assessments

• self report

• conviction/PSR

• fantasy questionnaires

• penile plethysmograph

• vaginal photoplethysmograph

penile plethysmograph

(erotic preference testing)

1. has stimulus materials

2. measures change in penile size with blood

3. standardized presentation of stimuli

vaginal photoplethysmograph

not as useful as penile, can only do 3-4 runs compared to 40-60 for males as detumescence period takes longer

• infrared diode inside will illuminate and show blood passing through