NCJ Number
226244
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior: A Review Journal Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: January/February 2009 Pages: 5-12
Date Published
January 2009
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study reviewd the theoretical, empirical, and practical implications related to the modus operandi of sexual offenders against children.
Abstract
Findings show that offenders adopt a variety of strategies to attain sub-goals such as gaining victims’ access, trust, and cooperation in sexual activity, while maintaining victims’ silence following the abuse, which enables them to perpetrate their offense successfully. A particularly consistent finding was that many offenders gradually desensitized their victim to physical contact before moving to sexual touch. Modus operandi alone cannot explain the whole crime-commission process. As a result, some studies were completed to examine the relationships between modus operandi and other characteristics such as victim and situational factors. Specifically, research showed that the modus operandi might be particularly influenced by the age and the gender of the victim as well as the offender-victim relationship and the presence of deviant sexual fantasies before the crime. Modus operandi studies must be taken into account for the prevention of sexual offending against children. Offender modus operandi information is already used in relapse prevention treatment to prevent recidivism. However, more detailed and specific information is needed to better assist offenders from reoffending. Tables and references