8. Sex Offenders

Question 1

Lanning’s Typologies of Sex Offfenders for LE.

Summarise characteristics of SITUATIONAL sex offenders.

Remember it is a motivation continuim - not necessarily one or the other.

Answer 1

• Motivation tends to be more basic sexual needs (e.g lust & horniness) or power or anger / non sexual needs.
• do not usually have a true sexual preference for children
• offend against children for a variety of situational reasons (because they ‘can’, to exert power, to control, to experiment)
• Offend against children who are readily available to them - their own
• Tend to be on a lower socio economic scale & less intelligent
• Tend to have some element of ‘low varied criminality, maybe involved in DV
• Varied pornography collection - may be violent
• More likely to use violence / threats to control and offend
• often opportunistic and impulsive
• likely to consider risks but may make sloppy mistakes.
• thought-driven criminal sexual behavior tends to focus on general victim
  characteristics (e.g., age, race, gender) and their perception of themselves as entitled to the sex.
• their sex crimes can be spontaneous or planned but involve a practical MO (not ritual)

Question 2

What are the THREE type of SITUATIONAL SEX OFFENDER?

Answer 2

• REGRESSED
  Low self-esteem and social / coping skills
  Victims forced / coerced after being chosen by availability as substitute for adult partner
  Porn collection likely to include homemade CSAM & adult pornography.
• MORALLY INDISCRIMINATE.
  A difficult person with all sorts of “issues”. Psychopath. Abusive generally to people. Will lie, cheat / steal.
  Child victims chosen because he can. Why not?
  Violent if he wants. Often uses force and or manipulation. Impulsive with low morals.
  Pubescenet children are most at risk.
  Porn collection can include anything but may be violent adult material or CSAM (likely pubescent).
• INADAQUATE
  Socially withdrawn, may suffer mental illness, social ‘misfit’, ‘unusual’ or ‘withdrawn’.
  Usually offend against children out of insecurity or curiosity - children are non threatening to explore with.
  May select a child as a substitute for a specific adult (e.g the child’s relative).
  The sexual offending against a child is often a result of built up impulses - may lead to frustration / anger / hostility - increased violence.
  May offend against elderly.
  Impulsive and so may kill
  No good at grooming
  Collection might not include CSAM

Question 3

Summarise characteristics of PREFERENTIAL sex offenders.

Remember it is a motivation continuim - not necessarily one or the other.

Answer 3

• Movivation is sexual needs
• Specific criminal behaviour which is to service sexual deviant needs (paraphilias)
• so a preferential CHILD sex offender is to serve paedophilic needs.
• Fantasy driven
• Tend to be more intelligent from a higher socioeconomic group
• Patterns of behaviour are ritualistic. based on need and less likely to change.
• Porn collections are likely to be theme based, so for a child sex offender this is likely to be CSAM.
• Likely to use props, reherse & chose victims based on them fitting that fantasy / need.
• Compulsive
• Consider need and make needy mistakes.

Question 4

What are the 4 types of PREFERENTIAL sex offender?

Answer 4

• SEDUCTION
  Finds victims by grooming & treating them with attention, affection & gifts (seduction).
  Seduces them until their sexual inhibitions are lowered.
  ‘Good’ with children. Listens & understands them.
  Frequently selects targets who are vulnerable due to neglect or dysfunctional family homes.
  Will ‘drop’ victims when they get too old
  Many victims.
  Only likely to use violence / threats to prevent child from leaving & to avoid disclosure / ID (not in order to offend)
• INTROVERTED
  Sexual preferences incl. children but lacks social / interpersonal skills to groom / seduce.
  Most likely to offend against strangers and or younger children.
  Less likely to have multiple victims.
  Likely to ‘hang around’ where children congregate - engage them in sexual comments or exposure.
  May travel abroad to offend and / or use children being sold for sex.
  May find internet easier to communicate.
  May marry in order to have their own child to a child to offend.
• SADISTIC
  Sexual preferences incl need to inflict physical & / or psychological pain & suffering. Sexual arousal by victim pain
  Uses force or lures victims to access them.
  Most likely type of preferntial offender to abduct & commit murder.
  Most likely to access unknown victims.
  In severe sadism it is difficult to prevent disclosure & escape identifcation without killing or otherwise disposing of the victim.
  Most likely to have highest category of CSAM.
• DIVERSE
  Victim selection situational. Pansexual. Sex with anyone.
  No strong preference for children but may have other paraphilias or sexual prefernces.
  Chooses victim because they are not threatening or judgemental to these. Also because they are ‘taboo’.
  Most likely to share or involve kids in group sex.
  Most likely to communicate with women online to encourage them to offend against their own children.

Question 5

What are FINKELHORS 4 preconditions to offending?
Finkelhor 1984.

Overcoming the 4 brick walls. Each one gets smaller.

Used by Joe Sullivan to create the ‘spiral of sexual abuse’ (2002)

Answer 5

If any one of these doesn’t happen then the abuse will not happen. First two are about the abuser themselves. The 3rd is about the environment & the 4th is about the child.

The internet helps to overcome these.

1. MOTIVATION
   The ‘want’ to offend against a child. Not content with fantasy itself. Can’t find sexual gratifcation elsewhere.
2. OVERCOMING INTERNAL INHIBITORS
   Conscience. Empathy with a child. Risk. Fear of being caught. Often overcome by masturbation / gratification.
3. OVERCOMING EXTERNAL INHIBITORS (CONSTRAINTS).
   Access to a child. 85% of CSA takes place within the home. Preferential SO will spend a lot of time placing themselves in place to access children (through employment or otherwise)
4. OVERCOMING VICTIM RESISTANCE.
   To desensitise child to sex, grooming of child and others. Or by violence.