Sex Crimes Unit 2

True or False: Specialized treatment for juveniles who sexually offend leads to reductions in both sexual and nonsexual recidivism

True

True or False: Most sex offenses are committed by someone not on the registry

True

Children shown in CSAM are victimized how many times?

twice:  first by the person committing the sexual abuse, and again by those who view it 

True or False: the registry is a significant deterrent 

False 

True or False: DOJ will investigate universities and local agencies if civil and criminal laws have been violated 

True

True or False: Offenders cannot be tried as an adult at 17 for sex crimes

False

Do men or women start younger with sex based crimes? Give the percentage

Women - 20-30% of juvenile offending population versus 10% of the adult population

True or False: Age is important when discussing juveniles

True

Five differences between juveniles and adults

Age, understanding, development, maturity, coping mechanisms

Do people who offend as juveniles typically offend as adults?

No

Do adult offenders typically start in juvenile age?

Yes - they have more aggressive, violent offenses in juvenile

People who commit sex crimes are not typically generalists (adult and juvenile)

False - they are likely committing other crimes as well

Do most juvenile offenders know their victims? If so, give examples of how.

Yes (approx. 90%) | equal for male and female | female caretakers like babysitting | males through roles where they are left with kids like babysitting or coaching 

What is the most common situation of juvenile sex offenders?

abuse of position of authority like a coach or older sibling or family member

True or false: Those who have more deviant sexual interests have higher rate of recidivism 

True

True or False: male juvenile sex offenders are more likely to have experienced sexual abuse than female

False

True or False: Female juvenile sex offenders have higher rates of learning difficulties than the typical population 

True 

Why does most of the victimization of female juvenile offenders happen?

• Most of the victimization by adolescent is the result of them exploring their sexuality in an unacceptable way | Curious of the opposite sex or same sex in exploring that in an acceptable way

Does newer research support that juvenile sex offenders are more likely to abuse substances than non sex offenders 

No 

What four things do not show a difference between juvenile sex offenders and non sex offenders 

levels of stress | assertiveness | self-concept | family history variables i.e. how many siblings you have, divorce, etc… 

What is the key to reducing crime and recidivism rates?

Education

True or False: there is an increase in personal distress in juvenile sex offenders (higher rates of anxiety and psychological pain) 

True 

What are the three maybes for area of understanding with juveniles compared to adults

1. behavioral may be consensual | did a 15 and 16 year old think they were giving consent? | but a 12 and 16 year old would be assault | Romeo and Juliet Law

2. May be sexual experimentation

3. May be abuse | are they being abused themselves | especially with females | if they are enacting sexual crimes it may be a sign of them being abused themselves 

Is there an increase in sex crimes being committed by juvenile perpetrators according to research?

Yes

Does mental capacity play a role in juvenile offenders being tried as an adult

Yes

• If it is a 16 year old with the mental capabilities of a 16 year old and they commit a sexual assault they could be tried as an adult 

• If it is a 16 year old with the mental capacity of a 12 year old and they commit a sexual assault they will stay in the juvenile system. 

Name 3 normal sexual behaviors for children

1. exploring their own bodies

2. curiousness about children from the opposite sex 

3. touching a sibling or another peer-aged relative 

   1. age and maturity levels come into play 

   2. i.e 15 year old touching a 9 year old sibling is not normal 

Name six antecedents to offending in juvenile

1. family dysfunction: with parents and siblings

2. excessive use of pornography 

3. history of abuse 

4. substance abuse 

5. lack of empathy 

Are assessments deeply important to treatment

Yes

What are some things included in a pretrial assessment

competency, family background, school background, risk level, needs assessment

Which organization promotes 6 stages of evaluation for juveniles

National Task Force on Juvenile Sexual Offending

What are the primary goals of assessment

identify risk and needs of offenders and hold juveniles accountable

Name the four treatment options of juveniles

family therapies | CBT | relapse prevention | psychoeducational interventions

What does SORNA 2006 do for juveniles? 

Requires offenders adjudicated for aggravated sexual abuse who are at least 14 years old at time of offense to register as a sex offender

What does the medical model and psychoanalytic treatment say about treating offenders?

Sexual offending is the result of individual psychopathology | sexual offending was a disease | There should be hormonal treatment and physical castration | only men were being studied |

What would they give men in the 1940s as a hormonal treatment option?

Estrogen - stilbestrol

What is castration and when did it end?

removal of genitalia | ended in 1945 because Supreme Court ruled it is as cruel and unusual punishment 

What new hormonal treatments emerged in the 1960s?

CPA and MPA (still used today) | replacement for negative effects of estrogen | prevents arousal 

What were the four components of behavioral therapy (1960-70s)?

Operant conditioning (punishment and reinforcement), aversion therapy (exposed to stimulus while being subject to a form of discomfort), shaping, orgasmic reconditioning (masturbate at home while thinking of their fantasy and then at climax on something not deviant) 

Relapse Prevention Model (1980s)?

Help offenders going through treatment to recognize the negative feelings and behaviors they had before offending | what to do when you have those feelings and behaviors | self-regulation and good lives model 

When did the polygraph start being used with sex offenders? 

1990s

Are polygraphs effective with sex offenders? If yes, why so?

Yes. Sex offenders can get nervous and tell on themselves 

Can polygraphs be used in court?

No. They can be used by police and in treatment.

What is the current model of treatment?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - got popular in the 2000s - focuses on approaching negative thoughts and feelings 

What is one of the things they focus on in CBT that is most impact child offenders? 

Victim empathy - offenders that victimize children often have higher empathy than rapists, raise their empathy to show them that their criminal activities impact victims and their families 

What do they focus on in Prosocial Sexual Behavior centered CBT? 

Sex education, picking up the right social cues (i.e. she is not playing hard to get, she does not want you), fantasies/distortions/minimizing harm prevention (these are not unique to offenders but the content is) 

What treatment organization was founded in 1984 and what does it do?

Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers

1. established standards and guidelines for practitioners that were evidence-based 

2. Sexual Abuse: A Journal or Research and Treatment 

What adjective describes treatment?

Multidimensional

What three things do they look for in the background investigation of offender?

1. Have they committed other sex crimes

2. Do they perform contact crimes like penetration 

3. Do they commit crimes against children 

What is the form of physiological testing used?

PPG

Give four examples of psychometrics testing in treatment?

1. Personality inventory 

2. Mental disorders testing 

3. Substance abuse testing 

4. Static 99-R - risk assessment 

What are the most common injections of anti androgens they use in treatment?

MPA and CPA

Which type of offenders typically get treated with hormones?

Child offenders - pedophiles with paraphilia

Is the usage of hormones useful without psychological treatment?

No - limited with psych treatment

Is the usage of hormones truly voluntary for offenders?

No - you can stay in the community if you get injected otherwise it is prison or commitment - this is an ethical dilemma 

Do you need special training to be a sex offender counselor?

Yes - you must be adequately trained and have positive and supportive attitudes. In Texas you must complete state mandated training 

What is countertransference?

Psychological phenomenon that occurs when a clinician allows their own feelings to shape the way they interact with patients 

What are the three common problems for sexual offender treatment staff?

Countertransference

Burnout 

Negative effects (fears recidivism, fears not helping them enough, hears horrible things) 

How do we know that treatment is effective?

Rates of recidivism

Conviction rates 

What are two things that disrupt reporting of effectiveness?

Plea bargains i.e. you can get aggravated assault versus aggravated sexual assault in a plea 

Deferred adjudication - the conviction can wiped from your record if you do probation with specific terms 

Are most people arrested for a sex crime on the sex offender registry?

No

True or False - Most sex offenders are caught?

False

Do most people who commit sex crimes have a prior charge for sex crime?

No

Do offenders in college typically only have on instance of committing a sex crime?

No

Porn is a multibillion dollar industry. How much money does it generate in the US a year and is that an accurate number? 

$15-97 billion dollars a year, but it is hard to track the true number because it is hard to track revenue on some platforms 

What percent of all internet downloads can be attributed to porn related downloads?

35%

What percent of search engine request are porn related?

25%

Approximately how many Americans regularly visit porn sites?

40 million

What percent of men aged 18-24 visit pornographic websites at least once per month?

70%

What percent of porn users in the U.S. are children under 12?

9%

What is the result of the increase of youth porn usage?

Can impact their development

We are needing to teach kids about sex earlier 

What percent of kids see porn before age 11?

15%

What are the three dangers of the internet for kids?

1. children are exploited for pornographic images 

   1. children are victims of child porn 

   2. the usage of AI 

2. Children access pornographic images 

   1. education, policies, and laws must go along with this 

3. Children are solicited online 

What is the definition of sexual exploitation of children?

Range of sexual activities involving child abuse or exploitation of a child for financial benefit of any person or in exchange for anything of value given or received by any person 

Why is child porn now called CSAM?

Because child porn made people associate pictures only and overall porn

Aside for CSAM, what other three forms of sexual exploitation of children?

Sex trafficking

Prostitution 

Early Marriage 

• typical in early and mid 1900s

• this still happens, common in third world countries

Name 8 ways that child porn can be sourced.

webpages/websites

webcams

emails

egroups

newsgroups

bulletin board systems

chat rooms

peer to peer

What are peer to peer networks?

Decentralized networks that allow people to share and access resources directly without a central authority that fly under the radar 

Do peer to peer networks have more serious cyber sex crimes?

Yes

What do cyber sex offenders have in common with general sex offenders?

They both have higher levels of physical and sexual abuse than the typical population

What are cyber offenders more likely to be compared to general offenders?

white, single, younger, more educated (tech background), higher levels of sexual deviancy, higher fantasy score/connection to fictional characters, more psychological problems 

What psychological differences do cyber crime offenders have compared to typical offenders? 

Higher levels of victim empathy (“I don’t want to hurt the child so I will just watch someone else do it”), fewer cognitive distortions, lower impulsivity (not going to impulsively grab a kid), lower conviction rate (less likely to be caught), higher self-control 

Who is more dangerous those who profit from CSAM or those who purchase it?

Profit

Do those who profit from CSAM have more prior arrests for sexual and non sexual offenses than those who purchase? 

Profit - have a history of violence

True or false: those who sell CSAM are typically not the people who make it?

False - those who sell CSAM are typically those who create it

Do people who create CSAM typically work alone?

No - it takes more than one person to create and distribute it

Do most victims of CSAM know their offenders?

Yes

Describe the typical CSAM victim and why.

white, young, female

most people are heterosexual and most people consuming CSAM are men 

White is increased because it used to count hispanic people too 

there are also just more white people in the United States population 

Why do CSAM consumers choose their victims?

based on characteristics like blue eyes or hair color not because of a connection or personality 

typically within an age range i.e. teenagers or children 

they will not vary in their victim pool 

What is the estimated number of victims of child prostitution in the US? 

400,000

What increases your risk of being victim of child prostitution?

Being a runaway, victims/witnesses of domestic violence, involved in welfare system, kids in foster care

What are victims of child prostitution at a higher risk for?

criminal behavior, substance abuse problems, becoming victim of sexual abuse, unplanned pregnancy, HIV, STDs

What is debt bondage?

you owe the person money or something and have to work it off

What is the definition of sex trafficking?

involves transportation of individuals against their will for prostitution, pornography, stripping, escort services, and other sexual services 

What is the distinction between adults and children in terms of sex trafficking? 

Adults are considered victims if taken by force, fraud, or coercion 

Children are considered victims by age alone because children cannot consent 

Is trafficking underreported and how many cases of sex trafficking were reported in 2023?

Yes and over 6000 cases

Is sex or labor trafficking more prevalent?

Labor but sex is increasing

What is the first comprehensive law for trafficking and what did it do?

Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000

amended and updated numerous times 

Three pronged approach: 1) prevention 2) protection 3) prosecution (giving harsher sentences to deter and try trafficking) 

Which countries have more trafficking and why?

impoverished countries - government is corrupt and unstable so the law does not function as strongly 

Are victims of trafficking always cooperative?

No - they sometimes cannot see themselves as victims

What is the primary focus on the management and supervision of SOs?

Registration and Community Notification Laws