NCJ Number
176477
Date Published
1996
Length
362 pages
Annotation
Based on in-depth interviews with 30 men who molested their own children or the children of people they knew, this study explores how the lives of offenders prior to their offending led up to and contributed to what they did, the ways that initial interest in sex with children began, the tactics offenders used to molest their victims over time, how they felt about and reacted to their behavior between offending episodes, and how and why they stopped abusing children.
Abstract
Through detailed interviews, this study shows how men with no prior history of child molesting as adults transitioned into and out of sexual relations with children. It explores the early lives of offenders, including the sexual violations many reported experiencing as children, that set the stage for the boundary violations they later committed. It also considers how the lives of these men began to erode in various realms during their adult years. The study then turns to the issue of how the thought of having sex with a child or children actually surfaced. In addition, the offenders explain in their own words the methods and tactics they used to initiate sexual contact with their victims. Since most men molested their victims repeatedly, the study next examines how offenders viewed what they did and coped with their feelings afterwards, as well as how their involvement in offending usually continued over time. To close their stories, the author describes the unsuccessful attempts many offenders made to stop their behavior and the various ways all the men eventually got caught. In conclusion, the author proposes a working theory about why situational involvement in child molesting occurs. A table on recent studies that measured sexual abuse; appended topical interview guide, research consent forms, statistical data on cases, and the retrospective interpretation problem; 28 annotated suggested readings; and a subject index