March 20, 2010

March 20, 2010

Elizabeth Kus, M.A. & Debra Warner, Psy.D.SEX OFFENDERS

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology ▪ proprietary and confidential information ▪ all rights reserved

Overview

• What are Sexual Offenses?

• Who are Sex Offenders?

• Statistical Facts

• Current Treatments

• Current/Future Issues2


Quiz #1 True or False Statements

1. Sexual offenders are individuals who act on impulse; they do not “plan” their assault. True or False?

2. Sexual assault is increasing more than any other violent crime. True or False?

3. Most acts of sexual abuse or sexual assault involve weapons. True or False?

4. For every incident of sexual abuse or sexual assault that are reported, at least 80 go unreported. True or False?

5. Sexual assault has the lowest conviction rate of any violent crime. True or False?

6. Many reports of sexual assault or abuse turn out to be false. True or False? (Eastern Oregon University, 2010)

3


Quiz #1 (continued)

7. Sexual offenders perpetrate because they have no consensual partners. True or False?

8. A woman cannot be sexually assaulted by her husband. True or False?

9. Friends and family of a sexual assault victim are also traumatized by the assault. True or False?

10. People who are drunk or high are not responsible for their actions. True or False?

11. Over 85% of all sexual assaults are perpetuated by someone known to the victim. True or False?

12. Sexual assault takes place during daytime hours and often in the victim’s own home. True or False?

13. Victims of sexual assault are chosen because they are pretty, young or sexy. True or False? (Eastern Oregon University, 2010)

4


Quiz #1 (continued)

14. Sexual assault occurs because men cannot control their sexual urges. True or False?

15. Sexual assault offenders most often target those in their own racial, socioeconomic and/or cultural background. True or False?

16. People victimized by sexual assault or abuse sometimes “ask for it” by their provocative behaviors. True or False?

17. Sex offenders were sexually abused themselves as children- that’s why they do it. True or False? (Eastern Oregon University, 2010)

5


Quiz #1 Answers

1. False

2. True

3. False

4. True

5. True

6. False

7. False

8. False

9. True

10. false

11. True

12. True

13. False

14. False

15. True

16. False

17. False

(Eastern Oregon University, 2010)

6


Definition of Sex Offenses

• Sex offenses are crimes of a sexual nature.– vary in type – can be misdemeanors or felonies.

• i.e. distribution of obscene material is a misdemeanor and rape is a felony sex offense. (Lockyer, 2006) 7


Characteristics of Sex Offenders

• There is NO Sex Offender profile– Sex offenders are heterogeneous group– May be more similar to general population than different

• Typical Demographics– All Ages– All Genders– All levels of Mental Health functioning– All Socio-Economic levels– All levels of Intellectual Functioning (Center for Sex Offender

Management, 2009)

8


Types of Sexual Offenses

• Rape

• Lust murder

• Child sexual abuse

• Incest

• Human trafficking

• Beastiality

• Fetishes

• Molestation

• Frotteurism

• Polygamy

• Exhibitionism

• Voyeurism

• Telephone scatologia

• Pornography/child pornography

9

This is not a conclusive list- offenses vary by states & countries


Hands-on versus Hands-off Offenses

• Contact– Hands-on offense – sexual offenses such as rape and

molestation that involve direct physical contact of victim by the perpetrator; does not have to be genitalia to genitalia

• Non-contact– Hands-off offense – sexual offenses such as indecent

exposure, making obscene phone calls, and “peeping” that do not involve physical contact with the victim (National Center on Sexual Behavior of Youth, 2003)

10


Sexually Violent Predators

• A person who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense against two or more victims and who has a diagnosed mental disorder that makes the person a danger to the health and safety of others in that it is likely that he or she will engage in sexually violent criminal behavior. (Lockyer, 2006)

11


Sexually Violent Predators (cont)

• California Prop 83 (Jessica’s Law) (2006 election)– Increases penalties for violent and habitual sex offenders and

child molesters.– Prohibits registered sex offenders from residing within 2,000

feet of any school or park.– Requires lifetime Global Positioning System monitoring of

felony registered sex offenders.– Expands definition of a sexually violent predator.

• Reduces required number of victims from 2 to 1– Changes current two-year involuntary civil commitment for a

sexually violent predator to an indeterminate commitment. (Lockyer, 2006)

12


Rape

• Definitions vary from state to state– A criminal offense defined in most states as forcible sexual

relations with a person against that person's will– Felony (The Gale Group, 2008)

• Forcible rape, is the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009)

13


Rape Statistics

• In 2008, the estimated number of forcible rapes (89,000)—the lowest figure in the last 20 years—decreased 1.6 percent from the 2007 estimate. The estimated volume of rapes in 2008 was 6.4 percent lower than in 2004 and was 0.5 percent below the 1999 level.

• The rate of forcible rapes in 2008 was estimated at 57.7 offenses per 100,000 female inhabitants, a 2.4 percent decrease when compared with the 2007 estimated rate of 59.2.

• Rapes by force comprised 92.5 percent of reported rape offenses, and attempts or assaults to commit rape accounted for 7.5 percent of reported rapes, according to data reported to the Uniform Crime Reporting Program in 2008. (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009)

14

California 2007 9,013 24.7

2008 8,903 24.2

percent change -1.2 -1.8

Number Rate per 100,000

Forcible Rape

(U.S. Department of Justice, 2009)


Questions?

Comments?

15


Treatment- What Works?

• Legislation

• Community Treatment

• Chemical Castration/ Pharmacological Intervention

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

• Polygraph Testing16


Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

17

•Multimodal therapeutic approach designed to address the primary factors believed to be at root of sexual violence (Meloy, 2006)

•Socioeconomic•Cognitive•Behavioral•Emotional

•based on the idea that our thoughts cause our feelings and behaviors, not external things, like people, situations, and events (National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists, 2009)


Community Treatment

• Generally 3 years in length• Generally consists of twice-weekly group sessions

– group therapy discussion– role-playing aimed at helping offenders understand how to avoid

high-risk situations and how to change thinking patterns that lead to trouble

• Therapists also talk regularly with offenders' probation and parole officers to gauge progress and coordinate efforts– Supervising agencies (parole/probation) may do random checks at

homes of – Offenders may undergo polygraphs and answer questions about

whether they are abiding by the rules laid out in probation conditions/ treatment providers contract

• develop a network of carefully selected family members and friends to aid in rehabilitation and help them find jobs (Tillman, 2006)

18


Areas of Concern

• Recidivism rates appear to increase after 10 years, can we change that by continuing community treatment?

• Regulations placed on Sex Offenders are generalized, would recidivism and treatment be more effective if tailored to type of offense?

• Recent Chelsea King case- why wasn’t Gardner GPS tagged as a SVP under Prop 83?

• Miami-Dade Sex Offenders live under a bridge?

19


Questions?

Comments?

20


References

• Center for Sex Offender Management. (2009). Etiology curriculum lecture content- Characteristics (topic 3). Retrieved January 28, 2010, from Center for Sex Offender Management: http://www.csom.org/train/etiology/3/Etiology Curriculum Lecture Content - Characteristics %28Topic 3%29.pdf

• Croft, H. (2010). Definition of rape- What is rape. Retrieved March 1, 2010, from Healthy Place- America's Mental HealthChannel: http://www.healthy place.com/abuse/escaping-hades/definition-of-rape- what-is-rape/menu-id-808/

• Eastern Oregon University. (2010). Division of student affairs- Sex matters- Eastern Oregon University. Retrieved February 10, 2010, from Eastern Oregon University: http://www.eou.edu/saffairs/sex/answers.html

• Holmes, R. M., & Holmes, S. T. (2002). Psychological profiling and rape. In R. M. Holmes, & S. T. Holmes, Profiling violent crimes: An investigative tool

(3rd ed.). (pp. 139–157). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

21


• Lockyer, B. (2006). Proposition 83. Retrieved February 23, 2010, from California Secretary of State: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/vig_06/general_06 /pdf/proposition_83/entire_prop83.pdf

• National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists. (2009). What is cognitive-behavioral therapy? Retrieved February 25, 2010, from National Association of Cognitive- Behavioral Therapists Online Headquarters: http://www.nacbt.org/whatiscbt.htm

• National Center on Sexual Behavior of Youth. (2003, Nov). Glossary of Terms. Retrieved March 7, 2010, from National Center on Sexual Behavior of Youth: http://www.ncsby.org/pages/publications/Glossary%20 of%20Terms.pdf

• Ressler, R. K., Burgess, A. W., & Douglas, J. E. (2004). Rape and rape murder; one offender and twelve victims. In J. H.Campbell & D. DeNevi (Eds.), Profilers: Leading investigators take you inside the criminal mind (pp. 123– 132). Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.

22


• The Gale Group. (2008). Rape legal definition of rape, rape synonyms by the Free Online Law Dictionary. Retrieved March 1, 2010, from The FreeDictionary by Farlex: http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/rape

• Tillman, J. (2006). Sex crimes ~ Fears & facts ~ Community treatment. Retrieved March 1, 2010, from Valley News:

http://www.vnews.com/sexcrimes/community.htm• U.S. Department of Justice. (2009, September). Crime in the United States 2008.

Retrieved February 25, 2010, from Federal Bureau of Investigation: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/index.html

23

Documents

March 20, 2010