A Study of Child Sex Offenders: Characteristics and Motivations

Running head: A STUDY OF CHILD SEX OFFENDERS 1

A Study of Child Sex Offenders: Characteristics and Motivations

James Bardon

Nova Southeastern University

Criminal Justice Institute


Abstract

Worldwide, an estimated 7.9% of men and 19.7% of women have experienced sexual abuse prior

to the age of 18. A review of literature was conducted to gain an understanding of who these

perpetrators are and what their attitudes and justifications are for committing these crimes

against children. It appears that offenders are best classified using a bimodal approach.

Offenders can be described along a continuum lying between two characteristics. On one end is

the regressed offender who will victimize a child with whom he is acquainted. These individuals

may appear very normal, both on the surface and when examined using psychometric

instruments, like the MMPI. On the other end lies the fixated offender, who is more likely to

victimize a child who is not already known to him, and use a lengthy grooming process prior to

the actual assault. They are pedophiles that have extreme difficulty fitting into society and may

display seriously disturbed thoughts, affect, and deviant sexual behavior. Regressed offenders

appear, as in the case of domestic violence perpetrators, to be acting out of power and control

motivations while fixated offenders may be operating from a faulty perception of what

characterizes a viable mating partner. More research needs to be conducted on the similarities

and differences of individuals, since there is still difficulty in neatly classifying and

characterizing offenders. This will continue to be a difficult task, since many offenders do not

wish to be seen negatively, also they often will not reveal their true motivations and methods.


A Study of Child Sex Offenders

A metastudy conducted by the University of Barcelona using 65 research studies across

22 countries determined that an estimated 7.9% of men and 19.7% of women globally

experienced sexual abuse prior to the age of 18 (Pereda, Guilera, Forns, Gomez-Benitio, 2009).

In a 2000 study conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund, it was discovered that,

regardless of what part of the world is examined, 40-60 percent of the sexual assaults that occur

within the families involve a female victim under the age of fifteen. A review of the literature

describing studies of child sex offenders and their victims shows the majority of victims to be

female children. The most difficult cases for me to emotionally deal with as a police

investigator, were the cases that involved children who were victims of sexual abuse, especially

those cases that involve a father who was the perpetrator of the abuse. One case in 2009,

involved a family who lived in an inner ring suburb of Minneapolis. They lived in what most

would typify as an average intact middle class family; a mother and father, two teenage

daughters and a younger son. The father was the son of the former mayor of the suburb, the

oldest daughter was a cheerleader at her high school and there were no indications of any deviant

behavior exhibited by any member of the family.

The façade was shattered after the younger daughter attempted suicide when she was in

the eighth grade and she disclosed a history of abuse by an unknown family member to a friend

who, after searching his soul for the right course of action, alerted the school counselor about her

disclosure. Law enforcement became involved then, and during a forensic interview of the girl,

she revealed that she had been the victim of sex abuse at the hands of her father from

kindergarten through the sixth grade. The mother fortunately believed her daughter’s statement

and began changing the locks on house to prevent the father from accessing the house when he


returned in a few days from a job out of state. The older daughter did not believe the mother’s

fabricated explanation that she was conducting some home repairs and, after some questions,

came to the conclusion that the younger daughter had made a disclosure, and they were in the

process of protecting the family. She was able to come to this conclusion easily because she too,

as she explained to her mother, was a victim of sexual abuse by her father. A second interview

with the older daughter ensued, and a pattern of abuse that mirrored the allegations of the

younger daughter emerged; she too had been victimized by her father since she was in

kindergarten and the abuse terminated around the sixth grade.

I arrested the suspect when he returned home and interviewed him. Although, he never

admitted to his daughters’ accusations, but he pled guilty to the charges.

This case set me to wondering how often this type of sexual abuse occurs when law

enforcement never becomes aware of it. Had the younger daughter’s disclosure never made it

from the friend to the counselor, these crimes would have never been investigated, nor charged

and vindicated. These untold stories of abuse became even more evident as I talked with people

outside of law enforcement about some of my cases. Because of my experiences advocating for

these child victims, I was given acceptance into a world of secret abuse. People disclosed stories

of abuse at the hands of their fathers, uncles, and brothers when they were children; the stories

that never fell on anyone’s ears.

This paper will attempt to gain insight into child sex offenders by conducting a literature

review to examine the child sex offender types and methods, as well as victimology.

Classification

Crimes of sex abuse involving victims who are children are generally committed by

individuals that have a sexual preference for children. While the common term of pedophile is


adhered to individuals with this preference, a pedophile describes an individual who prefers

prepubescent children; children who are roughly 13 years of age and younger. There are actually

three levels of definition for individuals who prefer sexual relations with children over adults:

Pedophilia, Hebephilia and Ephebophilia.

Hebephilia describes a sexual preference for pubescents. The proposed American

Psychiatric Association DSM 5 catalogue of mental disorders defines it as at least an equal

attraction to pubescents, age 11-14, as attraction to adults. Sexual contact with pubescents must

have occurred on at least three occasions and there needs to be a 5 year age difference between

the parties. Green (2010) argues that Hebephilia cannot be considered a mental disorder drawing

evidence to the fact that sexual relations in many European is considered normal and legal with

14 year olds and legal. He notes the argument that there are penile responses in pubescents

among pedophiles and counters that Hebephiles will have penile responses to adults and

contends that sexual preference is defines on a continuum. Recent news shows that this

argument against diagnosing hebephilia continues among psychiatric professionals who have

sent a petition to the DSM-5 revisers urging them not to add the classification as a disorder

(Franklin, 2012). Despite the psychiatric community’s resistance to defining hebephilia as a

mental disorder, the criminal justice system in all states has defined adult relations with a

pubescent as criminal behavior. While society can deem an act immoral and unsanctioned,

science is currently hesitant to say that it is the effect of a brain or personality disorder.

Ephebophilia describes a primary sexual attraction to 15–19 year old mid-to-late

adolescents. The age of consent describes the age at which an individual is legally considered to

have the capacity to have sexual intercourse. The age of consent is delineated differently among

the states, ranging from 16 to 18 years of age (Caldwell, 2010), with some states allowing


younger ages, such as Iowa where it is 14 years old if the sex occurs between individuals within

5 years of age of each other (Iowa Code §§ 709.4 & 702.5). For the purpose of this paper, the

purpose of this review is to study adult offenders who commit crimes of sexual abuse against

children under the generally accepted age of consent of 16-18 years of age. The purpose of my

review was not to examine the attitudes of individuals who justify sexual relations with children,

or those situations of individuals involved in romantic relationships, but charged for statutory

violations. For example, according to the Minnesota Criminal Code §609.345(2012), a nineteen

year old could be charged with Fourth Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct for having relations with

a sixteen year old if the actor is in a position of authority with the victim. The intent is to focus

on those individuals who select children as targets for sexual exploitation and abuse. The review

has shown that the majorities of these victims are under the age of 14, with average and mean

ages of 8 to 9 years of age (Elliot, Brown & Kilkoyne, 1995, Shealy, 1991) according to the

Washington State Attorney General's Office, the average victim of abduction and murder is an

11-year-old girl who is described as a low-risk, "normal" child from a middle-class

neighborhood who has a stable family relationship and whose initial contact with an abductor

occurs within a quarter of a mile of her home (Hanfland, Keppel, and Weis, 1997). According to

Department of Justice Statistical Report in 2000 that used data from the National Incident-Based

Reporting System, “over two-thirds (67%) of all victims of sexual assault reported to law

enforcement agencies, were juveniles (under the age of 18 at the time of the crime).”

As in the case of the middle class father I mentioned at the start of this paper, child sex

offenders are able to successfully carry out their abuse without detection, because they do not fit

society’s generally accepted stereotype of the dirty old man lurking around playgrounds trying to

lure young children. They are fathers, uncles, brothers, neighbors and other accepted and trusted


individuals in the victims’ lives (Blanchard, 1995). As one researcher commented, the definition

of a pedophile is married with children driving a nice car (Swann, 2000). An offender who was

being interviewed for one study explained that children are too trusting and need to be told that

not everyone is trustworthy--"it is probably the last person you would suspect" (Elliot, et

al.,1995). Research confirms that some groups of child sex offenders test within the normal

range on personality tests like the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) (Shealy,

Kalichman, Henderson, Symanowski & McKee, 1991, Duthie & McIvor, 1990)

An examination of offenders in one study has shown that they typically are between the

ages of 19 to 74 years old with a mean age of 41 years old; the majority are between 30 to 42

years old (Elliott, Browne & Kilkoyne,1995). Thirty-five percent were from a professional

background, 31% were skilled or semi-skilled manual laborers and 44% were unskilled or

military personnel. At the time of the offense, 48% were married (Elliott, et al, 1995,).

Groth’s (1978) typology for child sex offenders is frequently used to describe offenders

as either regressed or fixated. Fixated offenders are characterized by being sexually “fixated” on

children. They are pedophiles who usually develop their sexual preference for children during

Offender Marital Status

Unmarried

Married

Offender Occupation

Unskilled

Professional

ManualWorkers


adolescence. They will not have healthy adult sexual relationships with a member of the

opposite sex since they are exclusively preoccupied with children. These individuals tend to

have a preference for male victims. Their crimes are premeditated and the fixated offender will

establish a long process of grooming their victims by gaining the child’s trust and friendship

before victimizing them.

Regressed offenders, on the other hand, are not pedophiles and will prefer sexual

relationships with adults. Their sex offenses against children are crimes of opportunity, most

often involve a female child and are precipitated by external stressors in the offenders life, such

as alcohol and/or drug abuse. The sexual abuse is an outlet for the regressed offender to cope

with these stressors. The victims will be intrafamily or accessible to the offender. They view the

victim as a supplement to their adult relationship, a girlfriend or “pseudo-wife.” While most

offenders will not fit neatly into either group, this typology can best be illustrated as a

continuum, with an offender’s characteristics lying somewhere on the line (Groth & Birnbaum

1978, Pendergast, 1991).

Elliott et al,(1995) interviewed 91 offenders who were in treatment programs, on

probation, in special hospitals and incarcerated in prison. A review of the results of their study

shows that the majority of the individuals studied were primarily fixated offenders. The study

offered insight into how these offenders operate; how they select their victims, groom and

victimize them.

Fixated Regressed


Shealy, et. Al (1991) studied MMPI scores to a group of 90 incarcerated child molesters.

Additionally, they were administered other instruments that measured self-esteem, aggression,

sexual deviance. Using this research, they found four distinct clusters that were analyzed. As

mentioned previously, one group showed no deviation from within the normal limits of MMPI

profiles and was similar to other criminals. The second group was characterized by a moderate

elevation of the Paranoia Scale and subclinical elevations of the scales categorized as the

“neurotic triad” (Greene, 1980) and Psychopathic Deviation Scale. Individuals with this profile

pattern have a tendency to have feelings of resentment toward others, suspiciousness,

guardedness, and sensitivity to the opinions of others. These two groups reported lower levels of

both psychological and sexual disturbance (dysfunction). Both of these groups also had few, if

any, victims who were reported to be strangers. Based on the profiles, these are individuals that

could operate and appear harmless; they could operate within our society in respected positions

and gain the trust of the families of the children that they are victimizing. In one highly

publicized case, a priest in California, Father Oliver O’Grady was able to victimize dozens of the

children of members of his parishes from 1973 to 1991. He was welcomed into their homes and

allowed to take their children on unchaperoned trips that served as venues for his abuse. He

committed acts of fondling and sexual penetration on both male and female victims aged 6

months to 13 years of age (Deliver Us from Evil, 2009).

The other two groups that Elliot identified, groups three and four, were similar in that

they showed more signs of seriously disturbed thoughts, affect, and deviant sexual behavior.

These individuals were more likely to indicate that their victims were strangers (20% and 30%).

Group three displayed higher levels on the MMPI scales Psychopathic Deviance, Paranoia and

Schizophrenia, which has a tendency to characterize individuals with heightened levels of anger


and hostility and problems with judgment. The sexual inventory administered revealed higher

levels of disturbed sexual thoughts and sexual obsessions. The fourth group had the highest

MMPI scale elevations with extreme scores on Paranoia, Psychasthenia (a scale which measures

obsessive thoughts, rumination and worrying (Butcher, 2008), Schizophrenia and Infrequency

(Client “faking bad” to try to appear better which brings into question the validity of a profile

(Cherry, 2012, Schatz, 2012). This group showed higher levels of anxiety and anger and were

more impulsive than the other groups. As a result, this group had a higher frequency of suicide

attempts and use of mental health services.

Motivations

Some socio-biological developments have discovered that the pressure for natural

selection has led to the development of systems in the brain in which reward is associated with

sexual behaviors that increase fitness; the ability to transmit ones DNA from one generation to

the next. Such systems reward sexual desire and arousal as well as the perceived fitness of a

potential mate (Rolls, 1999). Perhaps it is possible that fixated offenders have an altered reward

system that perceives children as viable mates; they accomplish their unmet intimacy needs and

desires to copulate by using a child as a surrogate sex partner (Lykins, Cantor & Kuban, 2010;

Groth & Birnbaum, 1978).

Countefeit deviance has been described as one motivation for sexual offending in

perpetrators with intellectual disabilities. This theory suggests that the offenders are acting out

of experimenting and exploration that is the result of poor sexual knowledge (Hingsburger,

Griffiths, & Quinsey, 1991; Luiselli, 2000). While the theory had been suggested, there had

been no actual evidence that individuals with intellectual disabilities actually had a reduced

sexual knowledge. Several recent studies (Griffiths and Lunsky 2003, Lindsay, Michie, Martin,


and Grieve 2005) examined this assertion and discovered that offenders with intellectual

disabilities actually had a greater sexual knowledge than individuals with intellectual disabilities

that were not sex offenders. Perhaps this increased sexual knowledge was born out of the

individuals’ increased interests in sexual activity.

Determining the true attitudes and justifications that lie behind child sex offender’s

actions is often difficult for researchers to ascertain. The offenders will often want to present

themselves in a ‘good light,’ rather than display their true selves (Stermac, Segal, & Gillis, 1990)

In addition to finding children sexually attractive, child sex offenders perceive more benefits to

the child as a result of the sexual contact, feel there is greater complicity on the child’s part, and

that there is less responsibility on the adult’s part (Stermac and Segal 1989). They will believe

that the child has an interest in the sexual encounter (Hanson et al, 1994) and feel that children

are submissive and less threatening than adults with which to have sexual relationships (Howells,

1978, Elliott et al, 1995).

Finkelhor’s (1984) model of child sexual abuse is often referred to by researchers to

discuss the motivations of child sex offenders. This model involves four progressive steps on the

path to committing offenses; emotional congruence, the motivation to sexually abuse a child,

overcoming internal and external inhibitions and overcoming the child’s resistance. Motivations,

as described earlier are often described as sexual preferences for children; however some

researchers argue that motivations may be, as in the case of offenders who select adult victims,

driven by power and control issues:

Individuals who are sexual offenders against children do not seem to be primarily

motivated by sexual desires . . . it is far more appropriate to regard child sexual

abuse as a power problem (Sgroi, 1982).


Summary

A review of the literature revealed that there is an inconsistency in defining the

characteristics and the attitudes and motivations of sexual offenders who target children for acts

of sexual exploitation and abuse. What researchers do appear to agree on is that offenders exist

on range, from those who can exist among society to those that exhibit extreme psychological

disturbance and sexual deviance. Current research seems to agree that an understanding cannot

be gained by a single factor and a multivariate approach is necessary. An understanding of the

offenders motivations is further complicated by the fact that offenders will be afraid of being

viewed negatively and may not often present their true attitudes and motivations. Research will

need to be continued using a multitude of different methods, both qualitative and quantitative

to develop findings and definitions with an increased converging validity about child sex

offenders.


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A Study of Child Sex Offenders: Characteristics and Motivations

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