Historically, sexual crimes differ
from other incidents that law
enforcement encounters in their
investigatory efforts. Most
incidents center on revenge, greed,
fear, hate, etc. With these,
although one doesn't agree with the
actions, mankind tends to accept or
understand the criminal intent
somewhat, albeit emotional or
planned factors. For years, the
study of sexual crimes primarily
examined adult behavior in an
attempt to discover the dark reason
for their acts. Little, if any
effort, was applied towards
juveniles.
Theories ranging from mental
disease, extra Y-chromosomes, hard
impacts on the head, violent
television, poor parental
experiences, as well as "folklore"
have been offered as explanations
for juveniles becoming the "bad
seed". Movies and books seem to make
sex offenders the headliners and
best sellers. However, within the
last several years, exploration and
emphasis has been placed on the
background, environment and
conditioning of our children. This
concern has targeted the juvenile
sexual offender and "what makes him
tick".
The first (recognized) juvenile
sexual serial offender/killer was
Jesse Pomeroy in the late 1800's of
the Boston area. The first adult
labeled under the same
classification was Herman Mudgett,
who took up residency in Chicago,
almost in the same time period.
Were they around before this time
period? Certainly. However, either a
label or name was not available for
them or their offenses weren't
recognized as a sex offense. A
journalist gave (the term
multi-murder to Mudgett). Terms used
to signify "styles" of killing
include; SPREE, MASS and SERIAL.
What appears to have been left out
is the one who uses his/her "power"
to compel others to do his/her
bidding (Jim Jones, Charles Manson
and Adolph Hitler). I have applied
the label of "ORDAINED MURDERER",
due to the belief/drive that
motivates them (religious, military
or "purging" selected groups to make
their perceived society better).
Studies have targeted behaviors
common to sexual offenders,
including, but not limited to; a
fascination with fire, abuse(s), an
injurious attitude towards animals
and other living creatures,
dysfunctional family atmosphere,
head trauma, desire for violent
video games and bedwetting, to name
a few. Intervention may not be
possible just because law
enforcement observes certain
behaviors or "signs" of a
subject. Like other arenas of the
human mind and behavior, this is not
an exact science.
At the beginning of the 20th
century, people who were thought to
act strange, what we would
believe due to mental illness today,
were alienated in society. Those
that treated these "aliens" were
called ALIENISTS
(psychiatrists). Although not a
qualified mental health
professional, the law enforcement
officer deals with these behaviors
when criminal behavior occurs. By
the very nature of the job itself,
the officer is becoming familiar
with repetitive actions by this
certain typology of behaviors. Some
typings are based on theories,
arrest statistics, legal definitions
or patterns they observe.
The point being, awareness is
the best friend of the law
enforcement officer. Awareness may
come in the form of "gut feeling",
heavy suspicion, or "something ain't
right" combined with their
assessment of the situation at hand.
These insights come from
investigative experience and
personally dealing with worst case
scenarios during the peak of an
explosive situation.
More disturbing is the thought that
a Juvenile Sexual Offender reaches
adulthood and is never caught or his
sexual deviance put in check, what
victim numbers they could generate.
Statistically, with a continuous
targeting of juveniles, the
estimates vary, but are believed to
be by some over 100 contacts before
an offender is caught (not
necessarily arrested) and over 300
during their lifetime.
Recognition of select behaviors
enables law enforcement to be more
in tune with the investigation of a
sexual offense. The following is a
review of twenty-nine (29) juvenile
(accused, arrested and adjudicated
as) sex offenders that have been
surveyed on specific areas. They go
to "group" regularly and acknowledge
their guilt. From their responses,
several conclusions can be made.
Some aspects of their behavior
remain a mystery. The names,
geographical locations of incidents
or other identifiers are withheld
for the obvious reasons
Where answers do not total 29
(twenty-nine), the responses were
not given on the survey.
In some cases, the cumulative answer
may go beyond 29 (twenty-nine). In
this event, the respondent had
multiple answers/victims.
AGE & RACE FACTORS
A survey of 29 (twenty-nine)
juvenile boys arrested and
convicted/adjudicated, ranging from
age 10 to 17 when they committed
their crimes, is reviewed. The boys
racial background is revealed as 6
(six) black, 17 (seventeen) white, 2
(two) bi-racial and 2 (two)
hispanic.
The questions totaled 34
(thirty-four) in length and were
short answer. Information was
solicited about the offenders as
well as their victim(s). Upon
reviewing the findings, listed below
are some answers accompanied with
insight or analysis.
With regards to the offenders age,
most incidents occurred at age 15
(fifteen) with a 14 (fourteen) as a
close second. In 25 (twenty five) of
the incidents, the victim was
younger than the offender. In two of
the cases they were the same age,
and two had older victims.
THE VICTIM
In case where the offender was
older, the average difference in age
between the offender and their
victim was 6.24 years. The largest
in difference was 12 years.
Females were the primary targets
with 22 (twenty-two) and male
contacts at nine. *Some perpetrators
targeted both male and female.
The above is not a revelation. Many
studies sustain that the perpetrator
is almost always older than the
victim is and the female victims are
larger in number.
RELATIONSHIP
Without exception, all knew their
victim. Seventeen admit that their
victim was a friend, neighbor or
someone they were babysitting.
Eleven stated that they were related
to their victim.
Make no mistake that a stranger
contact can occur, but in the
majority of cases, the victim knows
their assailant. Keeping it a secret
is the key to success for the
offender. The victim may not
recognize the incident as wrong, or
could be intimidated and fail to
acknowledge the incident.
LOCATION OF INCIDENT
Overwhelmingly, the victim or
perpetrators residence was the
primary location of the crime.
Twenty one responses confirmed this.
Other areas mentioned were: school
bus, hallway, walking home and
school (3).
LIVING CREATURES
Select questions were asked about
animals and living creatures and if
the offender had ever hurt one.
Sixteen responded that they had,
with three stating they had burned a
living creature.
FIRES
Six responders stated they had an
attraction to fire. Responses
ranged from one actually starting
only one fire to another stating he
had set fifty-three (53).
ENURISIS
Seven acknowledged that they had
experienced bedwetting incidents
beyond the normal age. Averaging out
their responses, the age they appear
to have in common is 9.85 years. The
ages ranged from age 7 (seven) to 13
(thirteen). HOWEVER, not one
states they have this problem
currently.
Footnote: To ask someone if they
stole, hurt or assaulted another is
easier for them to acknowledge than,
"I wet my pants when I get
excited". For someone to admit this
behavior may be worse than the
offense itself (peer pressure,
ridicule).
ADULT CAREERS
"What do you want to be when you
grow up?" is a common question
asked of everyone at one time or
another. This too was inserted in
the survey. Many responses were of a
high-risk behavior, such as;
pilot (2), cop (3), astronaut,
Marine, pro basketball, pro baseball
(3) and the one with the most
responses, pro football (4).
High-risk behaviors
have been believed to have a link to
sexually risky (unlawful) behaviors.
The actions offenders take to commit
a criminal sexual act are very
stimulating to some in different
ways; its a crime, the planning,
committing the incident, the thrill,
feeling superior to others.
Other responses ranged from
musician, grocery truck driver,
artist, lawyer, marine biologist,
mechanic, dentist, businessman,
cement truck driver, video game
designer and computer programmer.
Many adult criminals have stated
they wanted to be cops, counselors
or in the ministry. Each seems to
possess the ability to control
people verbally. When one
possesses wealth, they can control
others financially.
ABUSE
The topic of previous abuse is often
raised as a factor in sexual
offenses. When examining the
offenders responses on this topic,
mental abuse prevailed
(ten acknowledgements), physical
abuse second (seven
acknowledgements), with sexual abuse
last (four acknowledgements).
These responses run contrary to
public perception. There seems to
be a widespread belief that sexual
offenders were all victims of sexual
abuse, with mental and physical
abuse being relegated to a lower
scale.
Studies have targeted this specific
area (mental, physical or sexual
abuse) of the offender's background
attempting to link this as a causal
factor for future violent behavior.
Using the belief that "it feels good
to hurt someone like you have been
hurt" is not new. Placing the
appropriate term, "Reversal of
Indelible Pain (RIP), seems fitting.
Unable to "wash" the past pain away,
it is transferred to another for a
"moment" of restoration to the
offender. What form of inflicted
pain this may take, is in the
fantasy or imagination of the
offender.
MOVIE MOTIVATION
It has been speculated that movies
or television motivates or inspires
sexual offenders. On that line of
thought, the question was posed,
"What horror or scary movie do you
think about or like most?" Rated
highest were SCARY MOVIE (5),
HALLOWEEN (3), and SCREAM (3),
followed by others.
Certainly most people have seen a
sampling of these movies and have no
further thought on them. But
focusing on the original question (what
they think about or like the most),
may indicate an influence of some
nature. By majority, the ones that
were mentioned tend to have more
gore and "slashing" where the
antagonist controls in a sadistic
manner.
CONCLUSIONS
In order for any survey to have
value, the data examined must be
accurate. Even though the responses
evaluated here reflect what was
noted by the actual sexual offender,
we have no way to confirm the
veracity of those statements. Thus,
this evaluation is after-the-fact
and not empirical.
The age factor stills holds validity
where the perpetrator is almost
always older than the victim.
Females continue to outnumber the
male as the main victim.
Relationships of some nature existed
universally, with stranger contact
non-existent in this case study.
Causing injury to a living creature
is always a red flag. Also
brought in were the issues of the
appeal for fire setting and enurisis.
The offenders description of what
had occurred to them in life or the
behaviors they displayed sexually as
a result of the incident(s),
indicates a continuous pattern of
risky behaviors (or an attempt to
maintain high excitement levels).
This is taken from the
questions on careers, abuse, movie
stimulation and their description of
incident locations.
Finally, the ability to identify a
specific juvenile whose behavior may
indicate a predilection to
committing a sexual offense is a
long shot at best. Continuous
interaction and experience with
juvenile sexual offenders is the
best teacher for the law enforcement
officer. The law enforcement officer
becomes the hunter of facts through
select questions and reactions. He
or she can then reach a more
reasonable and statistical based
conclusion of an investigation
concerning the circumstances they
are up against.
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