CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE SEX OFFENCE: SUMMARY
In an over-all view of the extensive data presented here on the circumstances of the sex offense, certain salient factors emerge. There is a clear-cut trend for the findings on the more aberrant offenses to stand out in contrast to the “garden variety.” The aberrant offenses are typically the pedophilic ones and those involving force. They reveal in general a greater age disparity between the offender and his object and a higher degree of repetitive sex-offense behavior. The offenders show somewhat more psychotic indications prior to offense behavior, greater use of drugs and alcohol at offense time, and more impulsive behavior and consequently less premeditation. There is an absence of copartners, a greater difficulty in admitting guilt, and a larger tendency to rationalize the offense behavior through projection of the offender’s feelings to the object of the offense. On the other hand, the more “normal” heterosexual offenses, those vs. minors and adults, are characterized by less recidivism, more accurate reporting of the response of the object, and by a higher degree of acquaintanceship. Other general conclusions are evident. Aggression offenses are more apt to be committed by younger males. A high proportion of sex offenders are single or have experienced a broken marriage. Residences are the most usual location for offenses, while automobiles play a significant role chiefly in aggression offenses. Risk-taking is fairly high, especially if the uncertainty of secrecy on the part of children and minors is taken into account. The circumstances of homosexual offenses show certain characteristic trends. Typical of these are a greater age disparity between the offender and his object, lack of force in the offense, low use of alcohol and drugs, low incidence of married males who were offenders, use of toilets as an offense location, and the presence of police entrapment.
*386\161\2*
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.