Search

Despite the widespread public concern regarding abduction, research on this type of crime is scarce. This lack of research is even more pronounced when looking at cases that end with the death of the victim. In fact, all of the research looking at lethal outcomes in cases of abductions has focused exclusively on child victims and has failed to consider the interactions at the multivariate level between the factors related to the death of the victim. Therefore, the aim of the study is to identify offender and crime characteristics – as well as their interactions – associated with a lethal outcome in sexually-motivated abductions using a combination of logistic regression and neural network analyses on a sample of 281 cases (81 cases ending with a lethal outcome, random sample of 200 comparison cases). Findings show that sexually-motivated abductions ending with a lethal outcome are more likely to be characterized by an offender who is a loner, forensically aware, and who who uses a weapon and restraints, and who sexually penetrates and beats a known victim. The neural network analysis show that three different pathways lead to a lethal outcome in sexually-motivated abductions. Such findings are important for correctional practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, sexually motivated abductions have not received as much attention from researchers in comparison to the acts of abduction and sexual assault alone. Further, the majority of research that is conducted on abductions focuses solely on child victims, creating a gap in the literature. The current study was set forth to identify qualitatively different subgroups of offenders who commit sexually motivated abductions. Using victim, crime, and offender characteristics taken from sexual abduction cases (n = 1288), a latent class analysis was conducted. Results from the latent class analysis revealed that four subgroups of sexually motivated abductors exist: Convenience Opportunist, Strategic Opportunist, Child Opportunist, and Familiar Opportunist. In addition, bivariate analyses were run to test the latent class solution with different characteristics; results suggest that these subgroups of sexually motivated offenders may not be dependent on some victim lifestyle characteristics. These results provide evidence that there are qualitatively different subgroups of offenders who commit sexually motivated abductions, which may be useful for law enforcement when conducting investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual violence committed by multiple perpetrators is a particularly worrying phenomenon given that the severity of psychopathological sequelae for the victims are increased when the sexual offense is committed by more than one offender. Preliminary studies showed that sexual violence committed by solo offenders is different from that of duos or groups of offenders. This study explores the heterogeneity within 983 cases of sexual violence committed by multiple perpetrators, with a focus not only on offenders' modus operandi, but also victims' routine activities and situational aspects of the crime. Results from a latent class analysis identified four offending patterns: sexual violence committed by multiple perpetrators where: 1) stranger victims were randomly selected; 2) offenders were geographically mobile; 3) victims were assaulted during social events; and 4) offenders were non-sexually motivated. Findings help identify situational characteristics interacting with offenders' behaviors and victims' routine activities associated with sexual violence committed by multiple perpetrators. The implications regarding the heterogeneity of criminal patterns in these forms of violence is discussed in relation to police practice, situational crime prevention strategies, and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male-on-male sexual assaults (MMSA) have been overlooked in the literature, especially in light of the offender's decisional sequence. Additionally, current studies have never been supported by a strong theoretical framework. Therefore, the present study aims to describe MMSA by investigating the heterogeneity of MMSA scripts as well as by highlighting how victim, offender, and crime characteristics influence the crime-commission process. Using a database provided by the French Ministry of Interior, a latent class analysis supported by the script approach was conducted amongst 459 cases of MMSA. The model was composed of 16 variables illustrating various stages in the crime-commission process and 23 variables related to the offender and victim's characteristics were used to assess external validity. The findings support the heterogeneity of MMSA and highlight the existence of four scripts, namely the Intimate Outdoor, the Acquaintance Indoor, the Coercive Indoor, and the Stranger Outdoor scripts. Our results do not only contribute to raising awareness on the issue of MMSA, but they also have various practical implications as they can be used to guide prevention and investigation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past studies on criminal expertise showed that some sexual offenders possess skills related to avoiding detection. An important question that remains unaddressed in the literature, however, is whether unsolved cases can be used as a "proxy" for expertise. The present study sought to provide the first empirical examination of criminal expertise in a sample of solved (n = 732) and unsolved (n = 309) stranger sexual assault cases involving theft. We used binary logistic regression to determine whether behavioral indicators of criminal expertise predicted case status. Findings showed that the most relevant factors related to case solvability were not related to detection avoidance strategies used by the offender, but rather, whether semen evidence was found at the crime scene and the number of sexual acts performed against the victim. Interestingly, cases involving fetish theft were also more likely to remain unsolved. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to provide a theoretically grounded analysis of the crime-commission process of solo females involved in sexual offending, using crime scripts. The sample includes 93 cases of sexual assaults perpetrated by female offenders in an extrafamilial context. Latent class analysis was used to identify the scripts involved in female sexual offending as well as to explore the relationship between each step of the crime-commission process. Also, additional variables related to victim, offender, and location characteristics were used to test the external validity of the model. Results suggest four different scripts used by females: Daytime Indoor, Coercive Outdoor, Coercive Indoor, and Nighttime Indoor. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to further our understanding of sexual victimization using the routine activities theory (RAT) framework. Specifically, this study compared offenders' motivations as well as victims' vulnerability, inertia, gratifiability, and accessibility in elder, child, and younger adult victims. The sample used in this study consists of 931 cases of extrafamilial sexual assaults that occurred in France. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to examine the differences between the cases involving child (n = 193), adult (n = 500), and elder victims (n = 238). First, findings indicate that offenders do not present different motivations depending on the type of victim. Second, analyses suggest that child and elder victims presented similar patterns of suitability in comparison to adult victims. Finally, results show that for both child and elder victims, accessibility represents a major obstacle but manifested differently. Theoretical and practical implications as well as directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criminological theories and widespread assumptions about crime suggest that the modus operandi involved in sexual crimes should have changed over time given various contextual changes, such as better criminological knowledge (e.g., forensic awareness) as well as improved investigative techniques (e.g., forensic evidence analysis). The aim of this study was to test whether the modus operandi patterns of individuals having committed a sexual assault against female strangers have changed over time during the period of 2003–2017. More specifically, the study has identified changes in the trends of monthly counts and (relative) participations for sexual assaults during the study period in France. The measure of participations – a concept borrowed from the field of criminal career – was used to overcome the inherent limitations associated with this type of data. Results show that despite some significant changes in the modus operandi involved in sexual crimes, overall the modus operandi patterns appear to be fairly stable over time. The findings are discussed in light of their theoretical and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abduction has been related to a more extensive violent criminal record, suggesting that it represents a risk for escalation in violence. As most research has investigated child abductions, the current study compares sexually motivated abductions (n = 1,288) to nonsexually motivated abductions (n = 270) and nonabduction sexual assaults (n = 1,500) involving both children and adult women victims. Logistic regression analyses showed that compared with nonsexually motivated abductions, those that are sexually motivated are typically committed on victims who are single, while they are hitchhiking at night, and perpetrated in the offender's car. Moreover, when compared with nonabduction sexual assaults, results show that individuals who commit sexually motivated abductions are more likely to use a con approach on a stranger victim, to use a weapon, restraints, inflict serious injuries, and penetrate vaginally the victim either in their residence or their car. Abduction cases are often characterized by instrumental violence and both children and adult women need to be prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research focusing on the role of adverse childhood experience (ACE) of individuals involved in sexual homicide (SH) is scarce. Theoretical models of SH have postulated a connection between these adverse experiences and the development of internal risk factors. However, such assumptions have never been empirically tested. Therefore, the current research aims to identify how ACEs affect the development of personality disorders and problematic behaviors during adolescence, which constitute internal risk factors for the commission of SH. The sample comes from a database including 613 individuals involved in sexual crimes in Canada among which 60 committed a SH. Bivariate and multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify personality disorders and problematic behaviors during adolescence associated with the presence of ACEs. Next, path analysis was used to identify the direct and indirect relationships between ACEs, internal risk factors, and the commission of SH. Results showed that individuals who experienced ACEs were more likely to develop internal risk factors involved in the commission of SH. Moreover, findings suggest that the impact of these adverse experiences will differ, depending on whether the child has been victim of violence or if he/she has witnessed it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to determine the factors associated with the victim's death in sadistic sexual crimes. Specifically, this article examined whether the lethal outcome is more likely to be associated with an escalation of violence during the crime-commission process, an instrumental motivation, or the manifestation of specific sadistic fantasies. We used a database including 735 cases of sadistic sexual assaults. Among this sample, 100 sadistic sexual assaults ended with a lethal outcome. Bivariate analyses, logistic regression, and neural network models were used to identify how the different factors predicted the lethal outcome of sadistic crimes. Our results show that the expression of sadistic behaviors associated with torture and/or bodily punishment plays a fundamental role in the lethal outcome of sadistic sexual crimes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foreign object insertion (FOI) is considered as an unusual behavior and has been defined as the involuntary insertion of any object, by another individual, into any orifice of the victim. Although there is some research on the prevalence and nature of FOI in sexual homicides, there is very little on the characteristics of cases where FOI occurs, and no previous research has compared cases with and without FOI. Given the lack of research on FOI in general and the dissemination of untested ideas regarding the correlates of this behavior specifically, the current study aims to shine new light on sexual homicide cases involving FOI by examining the offender, victim, and crime characteristics associated with FOI. Using a sample of 662 cases of sexual homicide, chi-square and logistic regression analyses were used to compare cases with and without FOI. Results showed that offenders who experienced sexual dysfunction and victims who used alcohol/drugs prior to the crime were more likely to be involved in cases with FOI. Cases where victims were beaten, vaginal/anal fisting acts were perpetrated, and mutilation of genitals were observed, were more likely to show evidence of FOI. Finally, postmortem sexual activities and the use of strategies by offenders to avoid police detection were also more likely to occur in sexual homicide cases characterized by FOI. These findings are discussed in light of the literature on sexual homicide, the vulnerability of victims, and the manifestation of sadism. Practical implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there has been considerable variation in the application of expertise to offending populations, one aspect that is widely agreed upon is that expertise is best represented on a continuum from novice to expert. The present study, therefore, investigated criminal expertise in 877 hybrid offenses that involve sexual assault and robbery (i.e., sexual robbery) or burglary (i.e., sexual burglary). Specifically, we analyzed the crime-commission processes of both these offenses using latent class analyses to determine the heterogeneity of criminal expertise among each domain. Results showed an expert to novice continuum in both domains, including a "domain-specific" expert sexual burglary subgroup who was characterized by a high degree of offense-related competencies relevant to sexual burglary. We also found an expert subgroup in sexual robbery who had more general skills (i.e., overlapping expertise) relevant to violent offending. Implications for offender decision-making, treatment, and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite environmental criminologists emphasizing the role that both space and time play in the occurrence of crime, there is still only a small literature on the temporal rhythms of criminal behavior, especially those of sexual violence. Drawing from routine activities theory, this research uses circular statistics to investigate the temporal patterns of 2,260 sexual offenses from a Canadian police database at the seasonal-, monthly-, daily-, and hourly-levels, as well as their consistency over time. Findings suggest that there is a distinct temporal pattern when the unit of analysis is at the seasonal-, monthly-, and hourly-levels, but not at the daily-level. Furthermore, these temporal patterns are relatively consistent from year-to-year. These conclusions support the legitimacy of including a temporal element into current geographically-based sexual offender policies and practices. Pragmatically, these findings may also be used to better inform policing and situational crime prevention efforts to reduce the incidence of sexual crimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the role of alcohol consumption on the choices, decisions, and actions taken by the offenders during the crime-commission process. Specifically, this research aims to compare four different situations: neither the offender nor victim consumed alcohol, only the victim consumed alcohol, only the offender had consumed alcohol, and both the offender and victim had consumed alcohol. The sample used in this study consists of 2544 cases of extrafamilial assault involving adult victims in France. Bivariate and multivariate analyses are performed to examine the differences between the cases where neither offender nor victim consumed alcohol (n = 1259), only victims consumed alcohol (n = 241), only offenders consumed alcohol (n = 822), and both offenders and victims consumed alcohol (n = 222). Findings indicate that strong differences exist in the crime-commission process of sex offenders depending on both the victim and the offender's alcohol consumption. We observed that decisions made during each phase (i.e., precrime, crime, and postcrime phases) of the crime were influenced by alcohol intoxication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criminal expertise relates to the notion that some individuals may develop domain-specific offending skills that differentiate them from those with less skills or experience (i.e., novices). In the expertise literature, burglary has emerged as a distinct type of "expert" offense, therefore the current study sought to determine whether criminal expertise is more evident in the crime-commission process of sexual burglary compared to sexual robbery. We used binary logistic regression to compare the pre-crime, crime, and post-crime behaviors of 870 cases of hybrid sexual assault that occurred during the commission of either a burglary (N = 319) (or) robbery (N = 479), both of which involved personal theft from a stranger victim. Findings suggest that the crime commission process of sexual burglary involves a more sophisticated modus operandi and greater expertise in detection avoidance (e.g., strategies to protect their identity and destroying and removing evidence) compared to sexual robbery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shown that it is possible to link serial crimes in an accurate fashion based on the statistical analysis of crime scene information. Logistic regression (LR) is one of the most common statistical methods in use and yields relatively accurate linking decisions. However, some research suggests there may be added value in using classification tree (CT) analysis to discriminate between offences committed by the same vs. different offenders. This study explored how three variations of CT analysis can be applied to the crime linkage task. Drawing on a sample of serial sexual assaults from Quebec, Canada, we examine the predictive accuracy of standard, iterative, and multiple CTs, and we contrast the results with LR analysis. Our results revealed that all statistical approaches achieved relatively high (and similar) levels of predictive accuracy, but CTs produce idiographic linking strategies that may be more appealing to practitioners. Future research will need to examine if and how these CTs can be useful as decision aides in operational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a recent increase in the number of studies published on sexual homicide (SH), several of these studies have been based on small and nonrepresentative samples. This study aims to describe and compare two samples of SH from France (n = 412) and Canada (n = 350) where data have been collected and coded with the same tool. The data include variables related to the crime, the offender, and the victim characteristics. The overarching goal is to further the knowledge about French SH and to assess the possibility of merging French and Canadian cases to create a cross-national database of 772 cases of SH. Among the 126 variables included in the comparative analysis, 31 (24.60%) presented significant differences between the two samples. Overall, findings suggest that SH cases between the two countries are more similar than they are different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elderly sexual abuse has been almost completely ignored from researchers and practitioners alike. However, the occidental population is aging and living longer, suggesting that the number of cases of elderly sexual abuse should increase. Moreover, elderly sexual assaults have been described as being more violent, resulting in more severe injuries, and are more frequently committed by strangers, making criminal investigations more difficult to solve. The current study aims to identify the various motivations associated with elderly sexual abuse and to test whether it is possible to link offender and modus operandi characteristics to these motivations. In other words, the main objective is to identify "why" the elderly are sexually abused, "how," and "by whom"? Using two-step cluster analysis on a sample of 128 cases of extra-familial elderly sexual assaults (aged 65 years or more) from France, four clusters of offenders' motivation were identified. Congruent with previous studies, results showed that elderly sexual abuse was motivated by sex, anger, and opportunities. However, a fourth cluster was identified, describing offenders motivated by experimentation. These offenders, in addition to being young with a lack of criminal experience, were also more likely to perform the most intrusive sexual acts and to use physical violence, sometimes to the point of killing their victim. To test the external validity of our cluster solution, a series of bivariate analyses were conducted. Results showed that the four motivations were also associated with specific offender and crime characteristics. These findings highlight the importance of looking at the motivations underlying elderly sexual abuse to suggest better interventions strategies as well as improve the criminal investigation of these cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research on the spatial mobility of serial offenders has generally found that these individuals make calculated decisions about the ways in which they come into contact with suitable victims. Within the geographic profiling literature, four victim-search methods have been theorized that describe how serial predatory offenders hunt for their victims: hunter, poacher, troller, and trapper. Using latent class analysis, the aim of this study is to test whether this theoretical typology can be empirically derived using data that were collected from both police files and semi-structured interviews with 72 serial sex offenders who committed 361 stranger sexual assaults. Empirical support is found for each of the aforementioned victim-search methods, in addition to two others: indiscriminate opportunist and walking prowler. Chi-square analyses are also conducted to test for associations between this typology and characteristics of the offense such as victim information, environmental factors, and the offender's modus operandi strategies. Findings from these analyses suggest that the types of victims and environments targeted by the offender, as well as the behaviors that take place both before and during the offense, are dependent upon the offender's victim-search strategy. Although the theoretical hunter, poacher, troller, and trapper were intended to describe the victim-search methods of serial violent predators more generally, the finding that these strategies exist along with two others in this sample of sexual offenders may indicate that search behavior is specific to certain crime types. Furthermore, these findings may be of assistance in the investigation of stranger sexual assaults by providing law-enforcement officials with possible clues as to the characteristics of the unknown suspect, the times and places likely targeted in any past or future events, and possibly even his base of operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual sadism and psychopathy are often considered synonymous with sexual homicide, but there is limited research on their associates in sexual homicide offenders. Associates of dimensional measures of sexual sadism (Sexual Sadism Scale; SeSaS) and psychopathy (Psychopathy Check List-Revised [PCL-R] total, Factor 1, and Factor 2) were examined in 51 male Scottish cases. Over a third were DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV) sexual sadists, just under a third screened in with the SeSaS, and a quarter were "Hare psychopaths." Sexual sadism and PCL-R measures were moderately associated. Sexual sadism predicted control, sexual deviance, and unusual behaviour at crime scenes; attempted homicide and having a co-accused; and multiple sexual homicides and previous sexual offending. PCL-R Factor 1 predicted violent, exploitative, and evading detection behaviours at crime scenes; completed homicide; and previous violent offending. PCL-R Factor 2 predicted impulsive behaviours at crime scenes, substance misuse, and previous general offending. Psychopathy and sexual sadism play key roles in sexual homicide, interact with each other, and determine different aspects of offences and offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigates the question of the specificity of sexual homicide offenders by comparing three types of crimes: sexual homicide, nonsexual homicide, and violent sexual assault. The comparison is based on victim, offender and modus operandi characteristics throughout 102 variables. The sample has been taken from a French national police database including 1,736 cases. Among these cases, there are 463 nonsexual homicides, 173 sexual homicides and 1,100 violent sexual assaults. Bivariate and multivariate analyses are performed to highlight the differences. Major differences are observed between, on one hand, sexual homicides and, on the other hand, nonsexual homicides and violent sexual assaults. These differences focus mainly on the offender and modus operandi characteristics. By analyzing specifically the type of observed differences, this research suggests that the sexual murderer and his crime should be analyzed through the lens of a unique type of crime. Findings present implications in terms of correctional practices, offender treatment, and rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrary to popular misconceptions, offenders who kill sex workers as part of their series exhibit substantial variability in their victim selection and behavioral patterns, thus creating additional issues for the investigation of these crimes. This article first aims to outline differences in the demographics of crime scene actions present in homicide series with exclusively sex worker victims and series that includes both sex worker and non-sex worker victims, with the aim of understanding the crime scene aetiology of these two different types of series. Second, the research aims to determine between-series differences of victimology as well as crime scene action between sex worker series and mixed-victim series. Third, the research focuses on mixed-victim series and aims to determine the within-series similarities of victimology and crime scene actions, that is, what factors link sex worker victims and non-sex worker victims in the same series. Data were collected through a large-scale review of international media sources to identify solved serial homicide cases that have included at least one sex worker. Of the 83 series looked at, 44 (53%) included sex worker victims only, and 39 (47%) of the series included both sex worker and non-sex worker victims. The findings highlight the challenges that these types of crime present for investigation and the implications they have on current crime analysis research and practice, and results are discussed in line with theoretical and psychological issues relating to understanding differentiation and similarity, as well as investigative implications relating to linkage blindness and linking of serial crimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual murderers perpetrate homicide and rape/sexual abuse, but it is unclear whether they should primarily be considered homicide offenders, sexual offenders, or both. Most studies have merged together different types of non-homicidal sex offenders (NHSOs), neglecting to consider the potential differences between the nonviolent and violent sex offenders. Here, we suggest it is important to isolate those violent sex offenders who inflict severe physical injuries that could potentially lead to a lethal outcome. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to compare different measures of the criminal career on three groups of sex offenders: NHSOs, violent NHSOs, and sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) using data from 616 incarcerated male sex offenders in a Federal penitentiary in Canada. Interestingly, the group of sex offenders with the worst criminal career profile was not the SHOs, but the violent NHSOs. Violent NHSOs had the greatest number of prior convictions and the most varied and versatile criminal career. Therefore, we suggest that based on their criminal career, SHOs should be considered more as murderers than sex offenders. However, to fully answer this question, future studies should include a group of non-sexual homicide offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One particular crime location in sexual assaults is the victim's residence. Similar to sexual burglars, "home-intruder" sex offenders choose to assault the victim in her residence, most likely in their bedroom. The aim of the current study is to analyze modus operandi, temporal factors, and victim characteristics in a sample of 347 stranger sexual assaults committed by 69 serial sex offenders to determine which factors may be more relevant to sexual assaults committed in the victim's residence compared with sexual assaults committed at another type of location. Our hypothesis is that offenders who choose to sexually assault victims in their home constitute a specific type of sex offender, one that resembles the sexual burglar. Results showed that modus operandi (e.g., burglary), temporal factors (e.g., time at crime scene with victim), and victim characteristics (e.g., age, victim-offender relationship) were significant in predicting whether the victim encounter, crime site, and victim release site were located at the victim's residence or not. Moreover, these findings were generally significant across the three crime locations, which can be explained by the high consistency in location during home-intrusion sexual assaults. Situational crime prevention strategies aimed at making a residence less attractive for offenders should help reducing this particular type of sexual assault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aims to fill the gap on hebephile sex offenders by comparing them to a group of pedophile offenders as well as a group of teleiophile offenders. The focus of the study is to examine the victims' and offenders' characteristics, the crime characteristics, and the modus operandi used by a sample of 111 male sex assaults currently serving a sentence for sexual crimes in Korea. Looking at all the comparisons conducted, it seems that the hebephiliac is not more similar to the pedophile nor the teleiophiliac. He is in fact a mix of both. Aside from certain characteristics that make hebephiliacs different from the other two subtypes of sex offenders (e.g., sadism, travelling longer than 2 km to commit the crime, history of bipolar disorder), they mainly share characteristics of both groups. The current study uncovers very important differences that could prove useful for the management of these cases by the actors of the criminal justice system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research shows that sex trade workers and homeless populations are at a high risk of severe violence and homicide. Based on a sample of 229 violent sex offenders, we investigate the differences between sexual crimes committed against marginalized (n = 73) and nonmarginalized victims (n = 156). Findings from logistic regression analyses show that offenders who target marginalized victims are more likely to degrade their victim and use a variety of torture methods. However, offenders who target nonmarginalized victims are more likely to use a weapon, and kill the victim by strangulation. Implications for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Prior literature shows that although marginalised populations are at a high risk of severe violence and homicide, research has focused on their offenders as if they constituted a homogeneous group. On the basis of a sample of 213 sex offenders who targeted marginalised individuals (i.e., sex trade worker, homeless individual, and severe drug user), we investigate the different pathways that these offenders take both prior to and during the commission of their crimes. Results of 2-step cluster analysis regarding the offender's development, criminal history, crime context, and modus operandi revealed 3 distinct pathways of the offending process. The coercive pathway was characterised by the amount of violence used against the victim. The explosive pathway was defined by offenders who were in a state of rage at the time of the offence. Finally, offenders in the situational pathway committed their crimes out of opportunity and used very little violence. Differences between pathways were investigated with regard to characteristics of the index offence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from qualitative interviews and police reports, latent class analysis is used on a sample of 54 repeat stranger sexual offenders who committed 204 sexual assaults to identify discrete contexts present at the time of victim encounter that influence these offenders' decision to use more than one location to commit their crimes. Five distinct classes are identified: residential outdoor common area, spontaneous/quiet outdoor site, residential home, active green space, and indoor/public gathering place. An investigation into the outcome(s) that most often result from the offender's decision to move the victim during the sexual assault indicates that those who move the victim from an active green space overwhelmingly engage in sexual penetration, as well as forcing their victims to commit sexual acts on them. Crimes where the victim is moved from a residential home show evidence of the offender physically harming the victim as well as using more force than necessary to complete the assault. Implications for situational crime prevention are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose According to the rational choice approach, offenders consider costs and benefits when making decisions. This study applies this framework to sexual offenses and examines how various decisions made by perpetrators of sexual crimes influenced the desired and undesired crime outcomes that resulted. Methods The study examines 2296 crimes of a sexual nature committed by a sample of 898 offenders evaluated at the Massachusetts Treatment Center. Using Generalized Estimating Equations, 23 predictor variables measuring sexually coercive decisions made in each crime about four aspects ( who? , when? , where? , and how? ) are used to predict ten desired (positive) and seven undesired (negative) crime outcomes for offenders. Results Results indicated that decisions made by offenders in the context of their sexual crimes were mostly oriented towards the production of immediate positive outcomes and the prevention of immediate negative outcomes, but demonstrated little consideration for non-immediate negative outcomes. Conclusions Sexual offenders engage in myopic or hyperbolic discounting when making criminal decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extending prior research regarding victim injury during sexual assault, the current study employed mixed-methods sequential explanatory research design to identify predictors of victim injury and victim death in 361 attempted and completed sexual assaults committed by 72 repeat sex offenders who assaulted strangers. Results from multinomial path analysis indicated that being female and offender coercion increased the likelihood of victim resistance, which in turn elevated the likelihood of victim injury. Divergent from the predictors of victim injury, the risk of victim death increased with victim age, offender alcohol use, and offender weapon possession. Exploratory analyses suggest that certain weapons resulted in higher probability of victim injury or victim death within the context of victim resistance. Exploratory analysis of qualitative data indicated that crime event order was not uniform—in some cases victim resistance preceded victim injury and in some assaults victim injury occurred prior to or was unrelated to victim resistance. The study findings highlight the need for further investigation of victim survival strategies when offenders possess different types of weapons. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As most studies report that the majority of sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) prefer to kill with their own hands, research has largely neglected to examine the choice of weapon by these offenders. The US Supplementary Homicide Reports show that although a large number of SHOs murder their victim using personal weapons (e.g. bare hands and manual or ligature strangulation), the majority use an alternative weapon (e.g. edged weapons, contact weapons, and firearms). The present study hypothesises that the choice of weapon is in part influenced by victim characteristics. To identify specific combinations and interactions between victim characteristics and the choice of a personal or edged weapon during the commission of a sexual homicide, a combination of exhaustive chi-square automatic interaction detector and conjunctive analysis is used on a sample of 2,472 single-victim male SHOs from a 36-year period of Supplementary Homicide Report data (1976-2011). Findings show that SHOs choose their weapon according to some victim characteristics. Implications of the findings are discussed in light of police suspect prioritisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Using the rational choice perspective, the current study investigates the impact that the environment and offending behavior have on serial sexual crime event outcomes. Methods The effects of time and place factors, as well as offender modus operandi strategies, on sexual crime event outcomes are tested using Generalized Estimating Equations on a sample of 361 crime events committed by 72 serial sex offenders. Results Time and place do impact serial stranger sexual offenders' modus operandi strategies, but the place characteristics of the crime have more of an effect on the offender's behavior than do the temporal conditions during which the event occurs. Subsequent analyses indicate that temporal and place factors, as well as offender modus operandi strategies, predict whether the offender completes the rape, his reaction to victim resistance, and the level of physical force that he inflicts on the victim, but not whether the victim is forced to commit sexual acts on the offender. Conclusions Serial stranger sexual offenders are effective decision-makers who adapt their strategies to the physical environment in which they commit their crimes, but their degree of rationality can vary as some outcomes are more dependent on the context than the offender and his actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of stranger sexual assaults poses considerable obstacles for law enforcement officials. One such preoccupation is concerned with whether or not the offender will escalate in the severity of his behaviours with subsequent victims. The current study uses transition matrices to address whether or not the offending patterns of 72 serial stranger sex offenders change from one victim to the next as it pertains to their sexual acts and level of physical force used during the crime. Findings indicate that stability, specifically the offender's intrusive sexual acts and use of physical force, and versatility are present in this sample's offending patterns. To explain changes in offending patterns between victims, multinomial regression analyses indicate that situational factors and modus operandi strategies are important considerations. Implications for investigations are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to test whether there is a relationship between situational and modus operandi characteristics and criminal mobility during the sexual assault event. Data collected from both police files and semistructured interviews with 72 serial sex offenders who have committed 361 sexual assaults have been used. Negative binomial regression was used to identify the relationships between the situational and modus operandi characteristics and the criminal mobility exhibited during the sexual assault. Events that involved child or adolescent victims, those where the offender did not use pornography prior to crime, and those where victim resistance was observed exhibited more criminal mobility. Moreover, crimes in which the victim was selected, the victim was alone when approached by the offender, and the assault was characterized by sexual penetration and a lack of premeditation exhibited more criminal mobility. Results seem to suggest that criminal mobility is a goal-oriented action taken by serial sex offenders to successfully complete their crime and to avoid detection and apprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examines what factors may distinguish injury from death in sexual crimes. We suggest that victim characteristics may work in conjunction with the crime context to enhance or reduce a fatal outcome once a sexual assault is underway. Based on a sample of 201 sex offenders who either physically injured or killed their victim, we calculate risk estimations of lethal and injurious outcomes for various conjunctions of victim characteristics and contextual aspects of the crime event. One of the most interesting findings is the apparent protective effects of a victim's criminogenic environment, which consistently appears to decrease the probability of a fatal outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines violent sexual assaults and the factors associated with those assaults with lethal outcomes. It utilizes a criminal events perspective in conceptualizing the nature of these assaults and divides the event into three domains: victim characteristics, situational characteristics, and crime characteristics. Using a method developed by Miethe, Hart, and Regoeczi, conjunctive analysis of case configurations, we find that certain characteristics of the crime itself and certain characteristics of the victim appear strongly associated with fatal outcomes in sexual assaults, while situational characteristics appear relatively weakly associated with lethality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive efforts have focused on preventing or reducing the prevalence of sexual assault and sexual homicide of children and adults. Offender, victim, offence, and environmental factors have been associated with sexual assault injury and death more broadly, however, little to no prior research has investigated the role of these factors in explaining lethality using machine learning techniques. Using a database of 624 cases of sexual assault containing offender, victim and situational variables, a supervised machine learning technique is utilized to identify characteristics and situations that are most predictive of victim death during sexual assault. Results identified proximal predictors of lethality during sexual assault, including fighting between victim and offender within the 48 h prior to the assault and offender weapon possession. Greater victim-offender intimacy reduced the likelihood of assault lethality. One offence characteristic (forcing victim to perform sex act) also predicted reduced lethality. Findings demonstrate the potential use of machine learning techniques to identify the most salient predictors of lethality during sexual assault and to produce knowledge that will contribute to the development of lethality assessment for sexual assault. • Predicting sexual homicide is difficult. • A machine learning approach could prove beneficial. • Using a machine learning approach, a select set of predictors were identified. • Some well-established predictors emerged as important. • Some new predictors, such as recent argument with victim, emerged as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second, we conceptualize sexual homicide as a hybrid offense - one that combines murder and sexual assault - and argue that criminology has once again failed to examine complex crimes that combine two specific types of crimes (e.g., sexual burglary). 2 Sexual homicide and sexual murderer: a specific type of crime by a specific type of offende... Although the field of criminology has been late to the study of sexual homicide, these crimes have been the object of some research, largely dominated by the field of psychology and psychiatry. Comparing a large sample of individuals who have committed sexual homicides, violent sexual assaults, and non-sexual homicides, they found that perpetrators of sexual homicide presented several differences that were consistent with the other two groups. By combining the act of murder and sexual assault, sexual homicide has been overlooked - not only by criminologists (even by those specialized in homicide) but also by the field of research on sexual violence. [Extracted from the article]

• Sexual murderers who killed the victims had the intent do so compared to those offenders who inflicted several physical injuries. • Sexual murderers are more likely to use a weapon even if this is not necessary. • Sexual murderers are more likely to steal from the victim • Sexual abuse cases ending with a lethal outcome are not accidental or due to situational factors [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although sadistic child sexual abuse (SCSA) is rare, existing typologies of child sexual abuse have identified the existence of sadistic subtypes in child molestation, as well in the sexual homicide of children. Nonetheless, no study has sought to determine whether there is heterogeneity in the manifestation of sexual sadism between sadistic child abusers. The present study seeks to examine how SCSA manifests differently between offenders, and whether these differences are associated with specific victim, offender, and offense characteristics. The current sample includes adult males (N = 101) who were involved in a child sexual assault and scored at least a 4 on the Severe Sexual Sadism Scale (SeSas). All offenses take place in France between 1990 and 2018. Latent class analysis was used to analyze the sample for heterogeneity. Bivariate analyses were conducted to identify external variables associated with each of the latent classes. Three distinct latent classes were found: the sadistic kidnapper; the sadistic torturer; and the sadistic ritualist. External validity testing also revealed distinctive characteristics associated with each class. SCSA involves a heterogenous population with distinctive sadistic behavioral manifestations that vary in severity and relate to differences in crime-commission processes and offender characteristics. These findings offer important insights for crime prevention and correctional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]