Child molesters and other sex offenders

2012 ◽  
pp. 1960-1965
Author(s):  
Stephen Hucker
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Child Molesters ◽  
Sexual Offender ◽  
Sexually Violent ◽  
Risk Treatment ◽  
Offender Assessment

In most Western societies sexual offenders are more reviled than almost any other type of offender. On both sides of the Atlantic this is reflected in the sanctions that specifically address this group such as Sexually Violent Predator laws in the United States, Dangerous and Long-Term Offender legislation in Canada, and Sex Offender Orders in the UK. Related approaches include the introduction of sex offender registries and the widespread requirement that children at risk from sexual predators be reported by professionals and others. Although prone to find reasons to delegate the assessment and management of sex offenders to specialized forensic services, the general psychiatrist will find it impossible to avoid them entirely. It is important, therefore, for the general psychiatrist to have some understanding of this area in order to make appropriate decisions and recommendations. This chapter looks at definitions of sexual offending, types of sexual offender, assessment of sex offenders, assessment of risk, treatment issues, and ethical issues.

Sex Offender Registration: Implications and Difficulties for Ireland

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie McAlinden
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Sex Offender Registration ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
The Media

This paper explores the implications and difficulties of a system of sex offender registration for the two jurisdictions of Ireland. From the orthodox perspective, registration appears justified. Sexual offending has increase and this is used by the media to generate a ‘moral panic’. However, in terms of Blumer's (1971) developmental perspective, sexual offenders in the community have been socially constructed in Ireland, as a problem requiring specific action. This perspective most adequately explains the formulation of legislation. Arguments expounded in favour of registration include the supposedly high recidivism among sex offenders, the inadequacy of supervision provisions and the resulting need to ‘track’ the offender for public protection. Yet a plethora of obstacles which were not considered at the time the legislation was being formulated, such as cost and inadequate policing resources, may impede its effectiveness in aiding law enforcement and reduce it to symbolic significance only. Given these difficulties, I argue that registration is not an appropriate response to the problem of released sexual offenders in Ireland. Rather, from the social constructionist perspective, I suggest that it is better to ‘treat’ the sex offender through less formal and stringent means in the community, away from the criminal justice process.

A Preliminary Descriptive Model of Expertise Related Competence in Child Sexual Offending

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Patrice A Bourke
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Sexual Offender ◽  
Developmental Model ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Offender Rehabilitation

<p>Child sexual offending is a great area of concern to the public and researchers alike. The damaging effects of Child Sexual Abuse are numerous and frequently enduring. Research in sexual offending has tended to focus on therapeutic interventions and effectiveness as well as the aetiological aspects of offending. Much of this research has focused on offender deficits associated with sexual crimes that are the target of intervention programs. There has been little attention paid to the view that sexual offenders appear to learn from their previous offending and in some cases acquire a considerable degree of offence related competency. In other words, some sexual offenders appear to develop high levels of expertise. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there are 'expert' offenders within the child sexual offending arena who display greater competence in utilising grooming techniques, selecting targets, interpreting and evaluating social and environmental cues, and who possess extensive offence scripts. In this exploratory study, 47 male child sexual offenders were interviewed in New Zealand prison based Sexual Offender Rehabilitation Units about their offences as well as their lives prior to and post offending. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using Grounded Theory to generate a model of offence specific decision making. Results indicated that child sex offenders vary on the above dimensions and effectively span the range from 'novice' to 'expert' offenders with respect to the quality of their decision making and their domain relevant knowledge structures. By using the general principles of expertise as a conceptual framework, a developmental model of expertise in child sex offenders in New Zealand was constructed. The implications of the constructed model for theory and treatment are discussed and suggestions are made for the direction of future research.</p>

A Preliminary Descriptive Model of Expertise Related Competence in Child Sexual Offending

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Patrice A Bourke
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Sexual Offender ◽  
Developmental Model ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Offender Rehabilitation

<p>Child sexual offending is a great area of concern to the public and researchers alike. The damaging effects of Child Sexual Abuse are numerous and frequently enduring. Research in sexual offending has tended to focus on therapeutic interventions and effectiveness as well as the aetiological aspects of offending. Much of this research has focused on offender deficits associated with sexual crimes that are the target of intervention programs. There has been little attention paid to the view that sexual offenders appear to learn from their previous offending and in some cases acquire a considerable degree of offence related competency. In other words, some sexual offenders appear to develop high levels of expertise. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there are 'expert' offenders within the child sexual offending arena who display greater competence in utilising grooming techniques, selecting targets, interpreting and evaluating social and environmental cues, and who possess extensive offence scripts. In this exploratory study, 47 male child sexual offenders were interviewed in New Zealand prison based Sexual Offender Rehabilitation Units about their offences as well as their lives prior to and post offending. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using Grounded Theory to generate a model of offence specific decision making. Results indicated that child sex offenders vary on the above dimensions and effectively span the range from 'novice' to 'expert' offenders with respect to the quality of their decision making and their domain relevant knowledge structures. By using the general principles of expertise as a conceptual framework, a developmental model of expertise in child sex offenders in New Zealand was constructed. The implications of the constructed model for theory and treatment are discussed and suggestions are made for the direction of future research.</p>

A comparative analysis of Australian sex offender legislation for sex offender registries

2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 404-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Vess ◽  
Brooke Langskaill ◽  
Andrew Day ◽  
Martine Powell ◽  
Joe Graffam
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Perceived Threat ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
The Public ◽  
English Speaking

Australia has followed the course taken by other English-speaking countries in recent years of enacting legislation that requires convicted sexual offenders to register personal details with law enforcement agencies. These laws have been enacted to protect the public from the perceived threat posed by sex offenders, but have been written with little apparent reference to the available research literature about the nature and extent of this threat. In addition, there is no empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of legislatively based sex offender registries to either reduce sexual offending or to enable the police to investigate sex crimes and apprehend offenders. This article compares and contrasts the current laws governing sex offender registration enacted by the various states and territories in Australia, and offers a critical analysis of their provisions in light of the research literature on sexual offending.

scholarly journals Sex Offenders' Relationship Frames (SORF): A Qualitative Analysis of Value-laden Cognition in Child Sex Offenders

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Shruti Navathe
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Cognitive Distortions ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Sexual Offender ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
And Function

<p>Over the past decades, sex offenders' cognition, specifically their cognitive distortions, have been the focus of extensive research. Traditionally, cognitive distortions have been described as any statements provided by the offender that justify, minimise, or excuse offending (Abel, et al., 1984). Recent research highlighted a need to expand current understanding of cognitive distortions with regards to value, affect and function. The Judgement Model of Cognitive Distortions (Ward, Gannon and Keown, 2006) argued for greater examination of beliefs, values, actions, and their interaction with each other. The current study examined the role played by values within the context of sex offenders' reasoning and decision-making processes. It also sought to understand the ways in which offenders' accounted for their offending, whether it was irrational, and if so, in what way. The research was qualitative, and used interviews gained from a sample of 27 adult, male, treated, child sexual offenders from within New Zealand. Grounded theory methodology (Strauss and Corbin, 1998) was used to create a data-driven model of offenders' reasoning and decision-making, within the context of offending. Results indicated that values were an important part of the offenders' cognition, central to their sense of self, and critical to their perception of the world around them. Values were closely related to how offenders framed their relationship with their victims. Based on the clustering of values, the Sexual Offender Relationship Frames Model (SORF) emerged. This was used to understand and illustrate different pathways to offending using case-studies from the sample. The results have been evaluated within the context of existing literature on the study of sexual offending. Clinical implications, limitations, and practical applications are discussed.</p>

Sex offender treatment

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. W. Bradford ◽  
Giovana V. de Amorim Levin ◽  
Adekunle G. Ahmed ◽  
Sanjiv Gulati
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Sexual Offender ◽  
Offender Treatment ◽  
Assessment Instruments ◽  
Sex Offender Treatment ◽  
Sexual Offender Treatment ◽  
Actuarial Risk ◽  
Offending Behaviour

There are many misconceptions about sexual-offender treatment, which are particularly magnified when it comes to understanding and managing the risk of sexual offending in the community. Many of the misconceptions are based on faulty information about the types of treatment, treatment outcomes, and sexual-offence recidivism. Additionally, public misconception of sexual-offending behaviour in sexually deviant individuals creates stigma and fear. This is despite the large number of studies on sexual-offender treatment, recidivism, and treatment outcome available in the scientific literature. In fact, various actuarial risk-assessment instruments can be used to estimate the probability that a sexual offender will recidivate. Risk can be managed through treatment. The aim of this chapter is to review the evidence-based studies on the efficacy of sexual-offender treatment, as well as how the risk management of sexual offenders is currently implemented in sexual-offender treatment programmes.

Undetected Recidivism among Rapists and Child Molesters

1982 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 450-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Nicholas Groth ◽  
Robert E. Longo ◽  
J. Bradley McFadin
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Child Molesters ◽  
Sexual Offender ◽  
Recidivism Rate ◽  
Sexual Offenses ◽  
Anonymous Questionnaire ◽  
Low Visibility

Although recidivism among dangerous sexual offenders is generally reported to be low, clinical experience suggests otherwise. In order to assess the actual recidivism rate of offenders who commit sexual as saults, we administered to a sample of eighty-three convicted rapists and fifty-four convicted child molesters an anonymous questionnaire in which they were asked a series of questions pertaining to their his tory of sexual offenses. The results indicate that the majority of the offenders had been convicted more than once for a sexual assault. Furthermore, on average, they admitted to having committed two to five times as many sex crimes for which they were not apprehended. This study suggests that dangerous sex offenders usually commit their first sexual assault during adolescence, and that they persist in this criminal behavior, but that the offense has low visibility. For this reason recidivism, as judged by rearrests, is not a dependable measure of rehabilitation of the sexual offender.

Trauma Resolution Treatment as an Adjunct to Standard Treatment for Child Molesters A Qualitative Study

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald J. Ricci ◽  
Cheryl A. Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Child Molesters ◽  
Sexual Offender ◽  
Current Treatment ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Offender Treatment ◽  
Sexual Offender Treatment ◽  
Trauma Resolution

A literature review of current treatment models for child molesters and contemporary theories of etiology suggests a gap between theory and practice. Despite emerging recognition of the importance of addressing etiological issues in sexual offender treatment, many programs resist addressing the trauma sequelae of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in those sex offenders where it is present. Adding trauma treatment to standard sexual offender treatment was identified as a means to closing some of that gap. Ten child molesters with reported histories of CSA were treated with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Subsequent to adding this trauma resolution component, there was improvement on all six subscales of the Sex Offender Treatment Rating Scale as well as decreased idiosyncratic deviant arousal as measured by the penile plethysmograph. The current study reviews qualitative data collected during treatment and at posttreatment interviews.

scholarly journals On the Effectiveness of Sexual Offender Treatment in Prisons: A Comparison of Two Different Evaluation Designs in Routine Practice

Sexual Abuse ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 452-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friedrich Lösel ◽  
Eva Link ◽  
Martin Schmucker ◽  
Doris Bender ◽  
Maike Breuer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Sexual Offender ◽  
Offender Treatment ◽  
Routine Practice ◽  
Sex Offender Treatment ◽  
Exact Matching ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Meta Analyses

Although there is less continuity of sexual offending in the life course than stereotypes suggest, treatment should lead to a further reduction of reoffending. Contrary to this aim, a recent large British study using propensity score matching (PSM) showed some negative effects of the core sex offender treatment program (SOTP) in prisons. International meta-analyses on the effects of sex offender treatment revealed that there is considerable variety in the results, and methodological aspects and the context play a significant role. Therefore, this study compared different designs in the evaluation of sex offender treatment in German prisons. PSM was compared with an exact matching (EM) by the Static-99 in a sample of 693 sex offenders from Bavarian prisons. Most results were similar for both methods and not significant due to low base rates. There was a treatment effect at p < .05 on general recidivism in the EM and at p = .06 on serious reoffending in the PSM. For sexual recidivism, EM showed a negative trend, whereas PSM suggested the opposite. Overall, the study underlines the need for more replications of evaluations of routine practice, methodological comparisons, sensitive outcome criteria, and differentiated policy information.

Examining Ethno-Racial Related Differences in Child Molester Typology: An MTC:CM3 Approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 1683-1702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Schaaf ◽  
Elizabeth L. Jeglic ◽  
Cynthia Calkins ◽  
Linsey Raymaekers ◽  
Alejandro Leguizamo
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Child Molesters ◽  
White Child ◽  
Treatment Center ◽  
Child Molester ◽  
Axis Ii ◽  
Black Offenders ◽  
Axis I

Sex offender typologies have been developed in an effort to better understand the heterogeneity of sexual offending as well as offenders’ varied risk and therapeutic needs. Perhaps the most well-known and validated child molester typology is the Massachusetts Treatment Center: Child Molester Typology–Version 3 (MTC:CM3). However, this typology was developed and validated using primarily White sex offenders. The current study aimed to replicate this typology in an ethno-racially diverse sample of incarcerated White, Black, and Latino child molesters ( N = 499). Overall, we found that the MTC:CM3 was applicable to non-White child molesters but that there were differences in the proportion of offenders of different ethno-racial groups in Axis I type classifications. We found no differences in Axis II type classifications. Specifically, Black offenders were more often classified as socially incompetent and sexually attracted to adults compared with White and Latino offenders. Whereas White offenders were more often classified as socially incompetent and sexually fixated on children when compared with Black offenders, Latino offenders were more often classified as high in social competence and sexually attracted to adults than Black offenders. On Axis II, the majority of all three subsamples were classified as not having sexual contact with children beyond the offense, unlikely to inflict physical harm on victims, and as not having sadistic interests. Addressing these typological characteristics in the development and implementation of prevention and treatment efforts might increase the responsiveness of specific sex offender populations.

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