Modus Operandi and Situational Aspect in Adolescent Sexual Offenses Against Children: A Further Examination

• NCJ Number: 221304
• Journal: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 52 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2008 Pages: 46-61
• Author(s): Benoit Leclere; Eric Beauregard; Jean Proulx
• Date Published: February 2008
• Length: 16 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the relationship between situational factors such as location of the crime, offender or-victim relationship, and the presence of deviant sexual fantasies involving the victim prior to the offense and the modus operandi in adolescent sexual offenses against children.

Abstract

Results indicate that the location and the moment of the crime are relevant variables to better understand the crime-commission process and sexual offending against children. Modus operandi strategies were influenced by situational factors and the offender’s home, especially when home alone, was likely the place and the situation for adolescent offenders to adopt manipulative strategies. For instance, strategies consisting of gaining the cooperation of the victim to engage in sexual activity might be more likely to occur in less risky situations such as an empty home. Moreover, when the offender is in a home belonging to another person such as a friend’s or a relative's home, the offender is less able to anticipate problems such as unexpected arrivals and thereby less likely to comfortably plan an offense as easily as they can in their own home. The location was not associated with the adoption of strategies, but instead, the offenders adopted specific sets of strategies and committed the crimes once they assessed the costs and benefits involved. The results also suggest that offenders of deviant sexual fantasies involving the victim prior to the offense, may be more likely to adopt more manipulative forms of strategy to commit their offense such as giving love/attention to gain trust, and desensitizing to gain cooperation. Findings show that situational factors, especially the location and the moment of the crime in deviant sexual fantasies involving the victim, might structure the offender's choice of modus operandi or, at least, influence the final decision. The sample, recruited from treatment programs in Quebec, Canada, consisted of 103 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 who committed at least 1 official sexual offense against a child under the age of 12 and at least 3 years younger than the offender. Tables, figure, references