Characteristics of juvenile sex offending against strangers: Findings from a non‐clinical study

Previous studies of the characteristics of juvenile sex offending have been restricted to clinical samples (with convicted offenders undergoing treatment or assessment), which have several inherent limitations. To overcome these limitations victim allegations made to the London Metropolitan Police, UK, in 2001, of sexual assault by juvenile stranger perpetrators were sampled. The study aimed to determine more accurately the alleged nature of sex offending by this type of juvenile offender (aged less than 18 years) and to determine what factors were associated with the most serious cases of this type of aggressive behaviour. The most common offence characteristics were identified, and relationships between suspect and offence/victim characteristics were statistically tested. Offence seriousness, as indicated by physical violence and the occurrence of penetration, was significantly associated with an assault by a team of offenders, a young victim, and older juvenile offenders. The potential for predicting offender characteristics from offence characteristics was examined. Estimated offender age was significantly predicted by the absence/presence of penetration. An older juvenile offender was predicted by a penetrative attack. Aggr. Behav. 30:243–253, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Behavioural Profiles and Offender Characteristics across 111 Korean Sexual Assaults

Although the potential usefulness of the offence action–offender characteristic (A–C) relationships is widely accepted and operational ‘offender profiling’ units now exist around the world, few such relationships have been empirically established. To explore this, the offending action patterns within 111 sexual assault cases from South Korea were coded in terms of 16 distinctive, objective crime scene criteria and subjected to an agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis. Background psychiatric and general characteristics, Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) scale scores, and criminal histories were described for each cluster. The cluster analysis drew attention to six clusters or behavioural profiles within the sexual assaults. Cluster 1 included serial offenders who aggressively raped and robbed adult women, with some pseudo‐intimate sexual behaviour, in their homes. Two thirds of these offenders had histories of sexual assault. Cluster 2 included offenders who again targeted adults in their homes, but without pseudo‐intimate sexual behaviour. Cluster 3 included offenders who targeted adults outdoors at night. These offenders showed high antisocial personality PAI scores and psychiatric histories of sexual sadism. Cluster 4 included unarmed offenders who targeted adults in their homes without robbery. These offenders often had psychiatric histories of depression. Cluster 5 included offenders who targeted adults outdoors with a blitz‐style attack, and Cluster 6 included offenders who targeted minors outdoors, without weapons, using a confidence‐trick style of approach. Paedophilia and histories of psychiatric treatment were prominent amongst these offenders. The results indicate therefore some of the key empirical relationships that future research may develop as the basis for sexual assault ‘profiles’. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Veränderungen kriminogener Faktoren bei Sexual- und Gewaltstraftätern in Sozialtherapie und Regelvollzug

In the evaluation of offender treatment programmes, recidivism is still the most common measure of success. However, positive effects concerning future delinquent behaviour do not prove that treatment led to changes in the targeted criminogenic risk factors. Furthermore, little is known about whether such changes differ among the various offender types. This study investigated changes in self-reported criminogenic personality patterns and cognitions in a sample of treated and untreated sexual and violent offenders. Specific prosocial changes in treatment targets, such as self-control, excitability and neuroticism were found but similar improvements were also found in untreated offenders. In addition, changes in measured risk factors did not differ between offender types, although self-control, aggressiveness and neuroticism showed significant interactions between offence type and treatment delivery. Whereas treated violent offenders exhibited more positive changes than untreated violent offenders, an inverse pattern was observed in the case of sex offenders. Minor specific treatment effects as well as the limitations of the administered psychometric instruments are discussed as possible explanations for these results.     

Partnerschaften von Sexualstraftätern

Intimate relationships of convicted and released sexual offenders have hardly been the topic of systematic research. This article presents a systematic review of this topic. Only nine articles were found in a systematic literature search which investigated this topic with qualitative and quantitative methods. These studies were dominated by the determination of multiple deficits in the sexual offenders, such as intimacy and empathy problems, high frequencies of conflicts and aggression in the relationships as well as social isolation of the female partners. The female partners of sexual offenders also showed a high tendency to denial and minimization similar to the offenders and blamed the victims for the offence. The women seemed to like their status as a “martyred wife” and gave their husbands a “second chance in life”. However, the currently available studies have barely investigated the “sexual offender couple” and the dynamics of their relationship to elucidate stabilizing factors. In a pilot study on the topic of “partnerships of sexual offenders” 17 “sex offender couples” were questioned by interviews and questionnaires to collate the dynamics of the partnership, which was published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy. In the quantitative results it was found that the female partners of sex offenders predominantly demonstrated an insecure preoccupied attachment style and this influence on the relationship stability is discussed. Further studies are needed in this field of research to gain detailed data of “sex offender couples” for relapse prevention and therapeutic implications.     

Application of the behavioral investigative support system for profiling perpetrators of serial sexual assaults

The authors developed a data-based profiling system in order to support offender profiling. The system stored incident records of prior offenders. Inputting offence details of an unsolved incident, a probability score was assigned to each prior offender in the system; the score represented the behavioral similarity with the unsolved incident. The system then ranked all offenders in the system according to the probability scores, and prioritized the high-ranked offenders as possible suspects. Moreover, the system inferred the characteristics of unknown offenders by accumulating characteristics of the high-ranked offenders. The system achieved promising accuracy, especially for linking crimes to perpetrators. In 45 out of 81 simulation trials, the target offenders were retrieved as a rank score of 1 from among 868 sex offenders.     

Verläufe bei sexuellen Tötungen

This article summarizes main results of studies on forensic psychiatric court reports on 166 men who had been persecuted between 1963 and 1991 for a sexual offence leading to the death of the victim. Comparing perpetrators with a single victim and those with multiple victims we found similar results as in two previous studies with smaller samples: Multiple sexual homicide perpetrators showed more often sexual sadism and other paraphilias, as well as antisocial, schizoid and sadistic personality disorders. Follow-up data from the federal criminal records could be obtained for 139 offenders. Ninety perpetrators had been released after a mean detention of 12.2 years, whereas the 49 offenders who were still in prison or forensic psychiatric hospitals had been detained for a mean period of 20.6 years. The non-released offenders showed more often paraphilias as well as antisocial and sadistic personality disorders than the released perpetrators. Paraphilias and antisocial personality traits are empirically well proven risk factors for criminal recidivism with sexual reoffences. In addition, the non-released sexual homicide perpetrators had higher scores in all applied risk assessment instruments (PCL-R, HCR-20, SVR-20, Static-99). Among the released offenders only 1.1% (n=1) reoffended with a completed homicide and 2.2% (n=2) with attempted homicide. The recidivism rates with sexual and other violent reoffences in this sample of sexual homicide perpetrators were similar to those in a large meta-analysis on recidivism in sexual offenders by Hanson and Morton-Bourgon (4). Since well established risk factors had apparently been “used-up” for the decisions about release or non-release, in the follow-up data about the released offenders only age at the sexual homicide and age at the time of release were found as risk factors for recidivism with any violent (sexual or non-sexual) reoffence, i.e. the younger the offender at the time of the homicide and the younger at the time of release, the more likely is the risk of violent reoffending.     

Commuters and marauders: an examination of the spatial behaviour of serial criminals

The demographic characteristics of serial offenders that distinguish between the commuter and the marauder offence styles were examined. Proposed by Canter and Larkin (1993) these two styles represent competing models of criminal spatial behaviour under which the home base plays a role in offence site selection. Data on serial burglars, arsonists and sex offenders were extracted from the criminal records maintained by the NSW Police Service. The offence style of each offender's crime series was identified in order to relate the offence style to the demographic variables, and to examine the offender's first and last offences in a series. A commuter offence style was more likely to be adopted by burglars and generally by adult males. A marauding offence style was apparent in sex offenders and metropolitan based offenders. There was a progression in the distance travelled to offend across all crime types, as the last offence was located further from the home base by comparison with the first. These findings serve to validate the conceptual distinction between commuter and marauder offence styles. Several implications for further research are addressed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sex-role orientation and attachment styles of sex offenders

Given the increase of individuals who have a history of sexual offenses, there has been an increase in research on the etiology of sex-offending behavior. The present purpose was to evaluate the relationship between sex-role orientation and attachment styles of males who were sex offenders. Analysis yielded statistically significant differences between comparison (n = 22) and clinical groups (n = 21) in gender roles, with little sign of the androgynous gender type for sex offenders. The offender group showed significantly lower frequency of androgyny scores and significantly higher scores on feminine and undifferentiated orientations, supporting the theoretical view of sex offenders as being "cross-sex-typed." In addition, the sex offender group had a significantly higher mean score on anxious-avoidant relationship attachment. Based on the present findings, there appears to be a need to help sex offenders explore how their gender roles may relate to their sex-offending behavior and assist sex offenders in the development of adaptive relationships with reduced anxiety and ambivalence.     

Sind Exhibitionisten gefährliche Straftäter?

Exhibitionists are generally considered to be repeated but otherwise inoffensive delinquents. In contrast to this position in the past politicians repeatedly declared acting exhibitionistically to be the starting point of a development leading to sexual assaults. The following analysis is based on conviction records for the years 1998 to 2000. Out of 1979 Federal Registry records a total of 34 showed a development toward sexual assault. A far greater number of delinquents were convicted for property crime or common crime like assault or libel. This could has been confirmed for the time before they have committed exhibitionistic acts in public as well as after that. Convictions for similar offenses like indecent behaviour or sexual acts in front of children are common as well. More than one fifth of all offenders committed such an offence over the evaluated period of about 5 years after the reference crime. A much more decisive fact is that absolutely as well as relatively more offenders had been convicted of sexual assault before they were convicted of exhibitionistic acts in public. So from a statistical point of view a correlation between acting exhibitionistically and sexual assaults is not obvious. The ongoing dissection of files gives reason to classify the above mentioned 34 offenders to be a atypical type of exhibitionist, what means that their behavior is dominated by a antisocial personality and not by exhibitionism in psychiatric terms.     

Adolescent sex offenders with mental retardation: Literature review and assessment considerations

Working with adolescent sex offenders can be a difficult challenge. When an offender also suffers from mental retardation, this challenge increases. Unfortunately, this has been a largely ignored population, and clinicians working with this group often find little empirical work to assist them. Yet, many theorists posit that addressing sexual offending behavior when the offender is an adolescent may help prevent that behavior from continuing into adulthood. This is important because adult sexual offenders are often very difficult to treat. The current paper begins by reviewing literature on social deficits of individuals who have mental retardation. These deficits may contribute to aberrant sexual behavior among adolescents. The focus of the paper is then a review of literature on adolescent sex offenders, including those with mental retardation. We conclude this review with suggestions for assessment of adolescent sex offenders and with recommendations for future directions.     

Escalation from Fetish Burglaries to Sexual Violence: A Retrospective Case Study of Former Col., D. Russell Williams

Criminal history narrative studies reveal an escalation in sexual offender behaviour from non‐contact to contact offending, with an ever‐increasing likelihood of sexual violence and homicide. In particular, researchers have found that sexual offenders often have a history of committing burglaries prior to contact offences. Accordingly, researchers have suggested that burglaries may be associated with an increased likelihood of future sexual offending, particularly when they have a sexual element to them. However, to date, there has been little quantitative research focusing on the mechanisms of escalation in sexual offences. This paper seeks to study factors associated with sexual offence escalation in terms of changes in offence seriousness and frequency. Specifically, case evidence was gleaned from a series of fetish burglaries and subsequent sexual assaults and murders committed by the former Canadian Colonel David Russell Williams (RW). Cluster analysis, chi‐square, ANOVA, and regression analyses were conducted on the crime scene information of RW's 82 cases of fetish burglary. Analyses revealed a significant escalation in the frequency and seriousness of RW's fetish burglary offences prior to committing acts of sexual violence and ultimately sexual homicide. Recommendations for future research predicting escalation of sexual offending by frequency and seriousness of offending behaviour are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial and environmental consistency in serial sexual assault

This study examines the crime patterns of 76 New Zealand serial sexual offenders in order to determine the extent to which offenders display locational consistency in their choice of crime locations. More specifically, the hypothesis was that there would be intraseries consistency in the distances travelled (spatial consistency) and the characteristics of the crime sites selected (environmental consistency) by serial sexual offenders. For spatial consistency to be tested, the distances travelled from home to offend and the criminal range for each offence series were analysed. Support was found for spatial consistency, and, in line with much overseas research, it was also found that the offenders typically did not travel very far from home to offend (median distance of 3 km). The environmental consistency measure was made up of various physical, temporal, and contextual variables that described the environmental characteristics of an offence. As hypothesised, it was found that offenders displayed intraseries environmental consistency in offence site selection beyond the level of that expected by chance. The implications of this both for understanding offender spatial decision making and for geographical profiling are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Psychopathie,antisoziale Persönlichkeitsstörung und Sexualdelinquenz

In today’s field of forensic psychiatry, psychopathy is seen as a subtype of antisocial personality disorder and includes manipulative behavior, egocentric and arrogant characteristics, high-risk behavior as well as a lack of empathy. Empirical data on the prevalence of psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder among offenders greatly vary depending on the study design and the composition of the sampled population. Offenders who committed both violent and sex offenses seem to have antisocial traits with a higher probability than offenders who committed only violent or only sex offenses. In the context of criminal responsibility and risk assessment for sex offenders, antisocial and psychopathic traits have a negative impact on the prediction of recidivism. Many study results, even though not all, additionally indicate that the combination of psychopathic traits and sexual deviance (i.?e. for example a paraphilic disorder such as sexual sadism) in sex offenders may be associated with a particularly high risk to reoffend. Due to the specific interpersonal characteristics (e.?g., dominant, provocative behavior, exaggerated self-esteem), therapeutic treatment of sex offenders with antisocial and psychopathic traits is often difficult. The regular supervision by the therapist is considered to be crucial to avoid harmful relationship dynamics or distorted perception of the therapist.     

Childhood family and personological risk factors for sexual offending

Childhood family characteristics including poor parent–child bonding, parental neglect and deviance, discontinued parental care, physical and sexual abuse, and child personal characteristics including antisocial, hyperactive, and impulsive behavior, precocious sexual behavior, and social skill and empathy deficits are first reviewed as risk factors for sexual offending by men. The implications for sexual offender treatment with male sexual offenders are then discussed.     

Zum Zusammenhang zwischen Vollzugslockerungen, Unterbringung im offenen Vollzug und Legalbewährung bei Sexualstraftätern

Early release, temporary absence, and minimum security confinement have been permitted less often in German prisons in recent years. There are several reasons and indications that sexual offenders are particularly affected by these developments. Prison files and recidivism data of 115 adult sexual offenders who had been in a Lower Saxony prison in the mid-1990s were analyzed for the current study to find out whether this group posed a specific risk when permitted temporary absence or minimum security confinement. It was also considered whether temporary absence and minimum security confinement were related to reduced recidivism after release. The average follow-up interval was 8.5 years. The following findings emerged: First, 50.9% were reconvicted for any offence, 21.3% with an aggressive offence, and only 7.4% were reconvicted with a sexual offence. Every fifth (19.4%) was sentenced to another prison term or had another probation term revoked. Second, rule-breaking and criminal activity by sex offenders during minimum confinement or temporary absence were very rare and of low severity. Third, sexual offenders in minimum security confinement were less likely to recidivate than others on all measures of reoffending. With Cox regression analyses that controlled for important risk factors for recidivism it was found that minimum security confinement contributed to reduced general, but not to reduced sexual or aggressive reoffending. No relationship was found between level of temporary absence status (unaccompanied vs. accompanied) and recidivism. It is concluded that, contrary to public opinion and judicial practice, sexual offenders can be granted minimum security confinement and temporary absence if an adequate selection process is implemented.     

How Long Do Offenders Escape Arrest? Using DNA Traces to Analyse when Serial Offenders Are Caught

Why is it that some serial offenders are arrested quickly and others only after a long period, or never at all? What characterises offenders who continue to escape arrest despite their continued involvement in crime? To be able to answer these questions, arrested (identified) offenders must be compared with never arrested (unidentified) offenders. In this paper, data from the Dutch DNA database are used to assess which characteristics of the criminal behaviour of unidentified offenders influence the probability that they will subsequently be arrested. DNA data offer a unique opportunity to compare crime series of identified offenders with crime series of yet unidentified offenders. Using the Cox proportional hazards model, we tested whether the number of crimes committed, offence specialization, and offence seriousness affect the probability of arrest of serial offenders. Results showed that as an offender commits more crimes, the probability that he will be arrested increases and that offence specialization decreases the probability of arrest. Another conclusion drawn is that DNA traces offer unique opportunities for criminological research. We discuss the limitations of this new data source and make suggestions for future research using DNA traces and for future research that might improve the current study. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Child versus peer/adult offenders: A critical review of the juvenile sex offender literature

Sexual offenses are serious crimes and it is believed that adolescents perpetrate 20% of all sexual assaults and 50% of all child sexual abuse (Barbaree & Marshall, 2006). To better understand the etiology of juvenile sexual offending, researchers have explored differences between those who offend children versus those who offend peers/adults. This paper critically reviewed 21 studies that compared juvenile sex offenders who abused children with those who abused peers/adults on a variety of variables including victim, offense, and offender characteristics; psychosocial variables; and predictors and rates of recidivism. Strengths and weaknesses of these studies as well as future directions for the literature are discussed. Common methodological limitations of victim-age based comparisons of juvenile sex offenders included inconsistent definitions, low-powered studies, lack of standardized measures, and recidivism data based solely on conviction rates. Overall, many inconsistent findings limit our ability to give overarching conclusions; however, the research does suggests that not only is it important to examine child and peer/adult offenders, but mixed offenders (i.e., offender with both child and peer victims) as a distinct group need to be included in comparisons as well.